The Adventures of Alec and Spyro book 4
by Alec the Dark Angel
Summary: Alec has been an instructor for the past 3 years, teaching the Dragon Realm about the Human Realm under the identity of instructor Silver. But now, Spyro and Cynder have taken on responsibility of a young troublemaker dragoness named Fog. Fog, in an act of defiance, had run away. Now she is lost in the Human Realm. And for some reason, her body is rejecting it's own existence.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Prologue~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Across the street from Alec's house, a white car pulled up and parked next to the curb. Then a man in a white suit and sunglasses stepped out of the car. He was about the same age as Alec. He had long, brown, wavy hair. He was about as tall as Alec, but was thinner. After a pause, he started walking toward the house.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Now if only I could control what I transformed into when I go through the portal," Alec said as he thought out loud.

As he was putting his folders away, the doorbell rang. Seeing as Pat was currently at work, Alec was the only one available to answer the door. Alec went the stairs and to the door. When he opened up the door, a man in white was standing there.

"Alec Willey, I am with the CIA, and you are to be taken into custody," the man in white said in a firm emotionless tone.

"What are the charges?" Alec asked.

"For an unforgivable crime. You are charged with crimes against fashion."

"Crimes against fashion?" Alec repeated, "Since when do law enforcement officers where white? And _I'm_ the one being charged with crimes against fashion?"

"Hey, I don't choose the suit. I just wear it," the man in white said as he took the shaded cover off of his glasses, "Actually, this was my father's suit. I'm actually on my way back from a wedding."

Perhaps I should introduce you before you start getting the wrong ideas. This is my friend from high school, Raymond Sudbury. One of the things I love about him is how serious he can appear when he's joking around.

But seriously, when have you ever heard of the government's men in black ever wearing white?

"Who's wedding did you go to?" Alec asked.

"My cousin's wedding," Raymond said, "So, what's your latest project?"

"Actually, it's something I've started working on for over three years now," Alec answered, "I've been spending allot of time perfecting it. But come to think of it, I haven't been working on anything else since I started the project."

I told Raymond about my portal and the Dragon Realms from the Spyro games being an actual physical place. As expected, he didn't believe me at first. After all, it sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. But after some convincing...and actually taking him to the Dragon Realms, he was finally convinced. Either that or he believed he was having a hallucination.

After the portal talk, we got caught up with each other. But knowing Raymond, he's probably gonna want to come visit the Dragon Realms now.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

A cloaked figure walks up to a cliff side and pushes in a rock that was sticking out. He then twists the rock ninety degrees clockwise and pulls it back out. This causes a boulder to move out of the way and reveal a hidden cave. The figure walks into a cave. The inside of the cave had the appearance of a laboratory.

The figure then got to work on what appeared to be some sort of high tech dragon armor.

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 1~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

**X ~ 3 years 2 months later ~ X**

Alec, or rather, instructor Silver as he is referred to by the students in the Temple Academy, was working on his plans for his first class of the new year. It wasn't hard for him to plan out the first class of the year, since it was generally the same thing he had done for the past three years. But this time he was having difficulty concentrating.

Normally I don't have trouble concentrating on what I'm going to do for my classes. The only time I can remember having trouble was three years ago for my first class ever. But this time, the reason for my lack of concentration was different.

After all, have you ever had to concentrate while a trio of three year old dragons were playing around your paws and trying to get you to play with them?

Alec had been going to the Dragon Realms to plan out his beginning of the year class. It helped to make plans with others there to help, which is why he made his plans with Spyro and Cynder, who were doing the same. But this time, their children were more active than they were before.

"Hey, uncle Alec, come and play!" the white youngling chirped.

Vortex is a white dragon with black wings, underside, horns and tail blade. He also has a black patch over his right eye. His horns are the same shape as Spyro's. And his tail blade resembled half of an arrowhead with the left half missing. His eyes were fascinating. His right eye, the one with the black patch, is a normal emerald colored eye. But his left eye is a black eye with a white iris and pupil.

Vortex is a little ball of energy. In fact, he's so energetic that he practically sucks the energy from the people around him. It seems that the name Vortex was an accurate choice. I can't help but feel like his energy is gonna cause trouble when he gets older.

Vortex' twin sister is Aurora. Her coloration is an inverted version of Vortex'. She's a black dragoness with white wings, underside, horns and tail blade. She also has white patch, but over the left eye. Her horns are also the same shape as Spyro's. And her tail blade also resembled half of an arrowhead, but with the right half missing. Her right eye is a normal violet colored eye. Her left eye, the eye with the white patch, is like her twin brother's, black with a white iris and pupil. Aurora is like the polar opposite of her twin brother. She's a bit shy and doesn't express herself much.

The way twins work with dragons is different than that of humans, since it's common for dragons to lay multiple eggs at once. So what defines twins for dragons is if two dragons hatch from a single egg.

Vortex and Aurora had grown to about a fifth the size of Spyro and Cynder. However, that size also includes that Spyro and Cynder have grown as well. They were now about half the size of Cyril. Alec had grown to about two thirds the size of Cyril.

Iggy however was only about two thirds the size of Vortex and Aurora.

Iggy is a black dragon with red wings and underside. He has a metallic tail spade. His horns are shaped like Cynder's, though he only has the two. His eyes are an amber color. But Iggy was smaller. He's only about two thirds the size of his siblings. It seems that maybe he has a stunted growth. Iggy is the curious type. He seems to find fascination in anything he hasn't seen before. And this is probably my silver dragon senses telling me this. But I feel like he's not as happy as he often appears.

"I'm busy, Vortex," Alec explained, "I need to plan out the first class of the year."

"Maybe we should leave uncle Alec alone," Aurora said nervously.

"But why?" Iggy asked, "Every year is the same plan, right?"

"Not exactly," Alec replied, "Although I get new students every year, I also get returning students. So I want to mix things up so that the students that are returning don't get a repeat of previous times."

"Okay you three. Let Alec work in peace," Spyro said as he came into the room, "When you get older and have to concentrate on something, you wouldn't want someone distracting you, would you?"

"DADDY!" Iggy cheered, running over to his father and jumping on his back.

Iggy had a special bond with Spyro. Even though my silver dragon senses can sense that, you don't need special senses to figure that out. Like the special bond I have with my mom.

From the day he hatched, Iggy had always enjoyed riding on Spyro. It started out with him riding on Spyro's muzzle. But eventually he got too big and transferred to the top of Spyro's head. Now it's his back, but he still keep his head on top of Spyro's.

"I assume this means you've finished your plans," Alec said, "So where's Cynder?"

"She's still looking over the plans to make sure we didn't make any mistakes. At least, that's what she claims," Spyro said, "But knowing her, she probably just wanted an excuse to get herself a snack."

"Why does she need to make an excuse to get a snack?" Alec asked.

"I don't know," Spyro replied, "Maybe she's afraid if someone knew about her snacking, they'd think that someone would worry about her figure."

"I guess that females always worry about their figures, whether they're from the Dragon Realm or the Human Realm," Alec joked.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

The next day was the start of Alec's Human Realm class, along with Spyro and Cynder's team work training class. Alec's Human Realm class was the third class of the day. Alec's class was only once a week, even though he was offered the chance to have a full week. Alec chose not to take the chance because it would take up too much time from his life at home.

For the first class, I chose to play the part of a dull instructor with no sense of humor. But that's intentionally misleading.

The students were now entering Alec's class. Alec just stood there with a serious expression as the students entered and took their seats. Once all the students were seated, Alec began to speak in a dull tone.

"Welcome class. I am Silver, your instructor for this class. Here you will be studying about the humans and the world they come from," Alec, or rather, Silver said in a boring tone. After the mention of studying humans, a grunt was heard, "I will now be calling out your names. If I call out your name and you are not present, please raise your paw."

"How could the guardians make an idiot like you an instructor?" a female voice spoke up, "If a student isn't here, then how can they raise their paws when their names are called to let you know that they aren't here?" The student that spoke up was a light gray dragoness with ocean blue wings and underside. Her eyes were an aquamarine color. She had a scythe-like tail blade and red markings on her shoulders and forehead that were in the shape of five diamonds put together to make a star shape.

I could sense trouble coming from this dragoness from the moment she walked into my classroom. But it isn't the kind of trouble making that I would sense from someone being defiant or being bully, like another one of my students. What I sensed felt more sinister. And I almost want to say it's unnatural.

But what also caught my attention was her appearance. With the exceptions of her coloration and the design of her markings, this dragoness looked identical to Cynder. I swear that I was looking at a younger version of Cynder. It was creepy.

But I can't let creepy simularities get in the way of my teaching.

"Yes, that is the joke," Silver said in a calm but displeased tone, "I was expecting someone to point that out. But there was no need for you to be as rude as you were. You haven't made the best first impression. But being the first class, I'll be generous and let it slide."

"Well don't do me any favors, Silver," the dragoness commented.

This is gonna be a long year.

"Well, I think I'll start the role call," Silver said in a more positive tone, ignoring the rude comment of the gray dragoness, "When I call you're name, please respond so I know you're here. Bolt?"

A white dragoness with golden yellow wings and underside, golden yellow eyes, and golden yellow lightning bolt shaped horns and tail tip raised her paw to reply.

"Celsius?"

"Here."

"Ember?"

"Here!" little Ember chirped. Though she wasn't as little anymore. Ember was now just a little younger than she was in A Heroes Tail. But generally she appeared the same.

"Flame?"

"Here," a red dragon who was roughly the same age as Ember said happily.

"Fog?"

The gray dragoness with the bad attitude just grunted in response.

"Latis?"

"Here."

"Quarry?"

"Yeah..." A forest green dragon who slightly resembled Terrador said.

"Shard?"

"Present," a white ice dragon with blue wings and underside said.

"Sienna?"

"Here," Ember's big sister replied.

"Zaze?"

"Here."

After the introductions, I gave the basic idea of what my class was about. Although it's not like it takes much to explain that I'm gonna be teaching about the Human Realm. Although that little brat Fog helped pass the time with her rudeness. That and Shard being a smart alec with how...wait.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Later that day, Spyro and Cynder had their first class, team work training. This class took the slot of Terrador's physical training class. While Cynder was getting the dojo ready, Spyro took down the names of the students. But instead of Alec's role call technique, Spyro asked each of the students names as they came through the door into the training dojo, checking each of the names off as they said them. Spyro was surprised at the appearance of one of them...Fog.

Spyro was caught off guard temporarily when he saw how much Fog looked like Cynder. But he passed it off as a strange coincidence.

The last student to enter the dojo was Bolt, "May I have your name?" Spyro asked the young dragoness, who didn't say a word, "Is something wrong?" The dragoness shook her head no, but then gave out a nervous whimper, "If you're nervous because I'm a purple dragon, or because I'm an instructor, I promise you that you have nothing to worry about," Spyro said in a gentle comforting tone.

The dragoness hesitated for a moment, but then gained the courage to say her name, "MMMM Mmy name iiiis BBBBB Bo-olt." Bolt said with a stutter. But this was not a nervous stutter. It seemed that her hesitation in speaking was because she had a speech impediment.

"I see. It's a speech impediment," Spyro realized, making Bolt lower her head, "Don't worry. I won't make you talk if you don't want to, unless it's necessary." Bolt then smiled up at Spyro and entered the dojo while Spyro checked Bolt off of the checklist.

Unlike Alec, Spyro and Cynder don't try to change their style for their first class of the year. Their first class is exciting enough as is.

"Alright class. Instead of just telling you what we'll be doing in the class, We thought we would just show you a demonstration," Cynder said. Then she activated the dojo's training dummies. Spyro and Cynder began their demonstration of their team work.

Cynder began by shooting a blast of fear at one of the dummies, temporarily stunning it. Then Spyro swiped at the dummy with his claws, taking off the dummy's head. Spyro then grabbed onto one of the dummies, holding it in place. Cynder then shot a blast of poison, dissolving that dummy. Spyro then used his earth element to hold one of the dummies feet in place, giving Cynder the chance to swipe at it with her tail blade, splitting that one in two. Then Spyro used his ice element to freeze a dummy in place. Cynder then covered her claws in her shadow element as she swiped at the frozen dummy with her 'Shadow Claw'.

For the finally, the two of them took the two remaining dummies, attacking with a melee attack before tossing them up into the air. Spyro and Cynder then used their fire and shadow elements respectively. The two elemental attacks merged together to create a 'Shadow Flare' team attack. When the Shadow Flare hit the two dummies, they were instantly vaporized, causing ashes to rain down on the class.

Most of the class were aw struck at the performance. Fog however wasn't that interested. However, the ashes caused Bolt to start sneezing uncontrollably. Bolt was sneezing so much that she couldn't even breath.

"Celsius, take Bolt to the infirmary right away!" Cynder commanded urgently.

"Yes, ma'am," Celsius said before taking Bolt out to the infirmary.

"Just as I thought. A lightweight," Fog said quietly.

Cynder heard what the dragoness said and was about to criticize her. But when she saw Fog for the first time, and Fog looked back...it was like time froze. It was almost as if they were in a trance. Their eyes were locked with each other. Cynder was so focused on Fog that she couldn't hear Spyro trying to get her attention. Finally, Spyro had to grab her and turn her around to face him to break the gaze.

"Cynder, what happened?!" Spyro asked in a worried tone, "You two were looking at each other for about ten minutes!"

"Ten minutes?!" Cynder said in shock.

* * *

**First things first. Raymond Sudbury is in fact a friend of mine from high school (though I'm probably spelling his last name wrong). The main thing we have in common is our love for videogames...and that's pretty much it. That and our serious expressions.**

**And who is that mysterious cloaked figure?**

**As you may have noticed if you've read book 3 chapter 17, I added more detail to the eyes of Vortex and Aurora...and Iggy of course.**

**I've also tried to make a good reference as to how much Spyro and Cynder have grown, since it has been over 3 years after all. I compared their size to Cyril's specifically because in my mind, Cyril is the smallest of the guardians. Compared to Spyro and Cynder's sizes in DotD, Vortex and Aurora are roughly about a third their size, maybe half. (To be honest, I never considered size comparisons for these stories.)**

**And when I mentioned the classes, I didn't skip the other classes intentionally. It's just that the other classes are the basic classes that you'd expect (math, language arts, etc.). And besides, I couldn't think of a good name for the Dragon Realm equivalent of those classes. And besides, it was in my class and Spyro and Cynder's class that the interesting things actually happen.**

**And of course I had to make someone with some kind of issue. This time it was Bolt and her speech impediment.**

**And what is the deal with Fog?**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 2~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Cynder and Fog were so focused on each other that Cynder didn't hear Spyro trying to get her attention. Finally, Spyro had to grab Cynder and turn her around to face him to break the gaze.

"Cynder, what happened?!" Spyro asked in a worried tone, "You two were looking at each other for about ten minutes!"

"Ten minutes?!" Cynder said in shock, "No! That couldn't have been more than a minute! Two at most!"

Fog also seemed shocked at how long they were locked in that gaze. But she decided to ignore what happened, expecting it to be a one time event.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Will Bolt be okay?" Celsius asked the healer.

"She'll be okay now," the healer, Voltra said, "It wasn't pretty to see though. I had to slightly modify my ability so that I could get Bolt's sneezing so intense that she was sneezing out big globs of snot. But it was required to get the ash out. But the amount of ash in her snot...it was like someone just took a pawfull of ash and just stuffed it in her snout."

Voltra stopped when he noticed Celsius was about to throw up. Celsius tended to have a bit of a weak stomach. And the visuals that Voltra gave her could've made a strong stomach churn. Voltra went to get a bucket in case she couldn't hold it. He then placed it in front of her before he turned and saw the clean bucket. Realizing he gave her the bucket with the mucus in it, he was about to replace it. But it was too late. The sight of the mucus caused Celsius to throw up.

Soon after that, Spyro and Cynder came in to check on Bolt only to see Celsius laying in a bed. "We were originally going to ask about Bolt. But is Celsius okay," Spyro asked.

"That was kinda my fault," Voltra said sheepishly, "After describing what I did with Bolt, I made her nauseous. Then I gave her...an unclean bucket. So I'm letting her stay here for now."

"I think I'll avoid asking what you told Celsius," Cynder said awkwardly, "But how's Bolt?"

"She's okay now," Voltra said as he lead them into the room where Bolt was. They saw that she was asleep and breathing deeply, getting in as much air as she could while she slept, "I don't understand why there was so much ash in her sinuses though. And she has a partial resistance to ash and pollen and things like that causing her to sneeze. She was hatched prematurely...if you can call it hatching. Bolt's egg was in fact struck by lightning. This turned the shell completely to ash. Because of all that ash, she developed an immunity. This lightning strike also is the cause of a...glitch in her brain."

"I assume that's where her stutter comes from," Spyro said.

"I didn't realize Bolt had a stutter," Cynder added.

"That's why she prefers not to talk," Voltra pointed out.

"As long as she's gonna be okay, I'm glad," Spyro said, "I guess we must have miscalculated something when we did our performance."

"No, there was nothing wrong with the performance. If there was any miscalculations, it was that there was less ash than previous years," A snow white dragon with cyan wings and underside said as he entered the infirmary. It was Shard, an ice dragon who has seen that display three times already. Shard is intelligent, and uses that smarts to make up for his lack of physical strength. Though he tends to put too much pride in his intelligence sometimes, "Is Bolt allergic to ash? Because if not, then I have to conclude that this was an intentional act."

"As I just told Spyro and Cynder, Bolt actually has a partial resistance to ash," Voltra said, "You said there was less ash than usual? How is that possible when there was so much ash in her mucus? Are you sure you didn't miscalculate something?"

"I never miscalculate," Shard gloated, "And if there was as much ash in Bolt's mucus as you say there was, and with there being less ash than usual, that just fuels my theory of Bolt's condition being intentional."

"Why are you here and not on your way to your next class?" Voltra said.

"I appologize. I just thought it would be a good idea to let you know my theory," Shard said before leaving.

"Can you make an infirmary note to excuse both Bolt and Celsius from the last two classes?" Cynder asked.

"Of course. I've have then ready in a minute," Voltra said.

Once Voltra went into the back room, Cynder turned to Spyro with a worried look, "Before I got caught in that gaze of Fog's, I heard her say that Bolt was a lightweight," Cynder explained, "That's why I was about to glare at her in the first place."

"Are you implying that Fog tried to use the ashes to suffocate Bolt?" Spyro asked, not sure whether to believe her.

"I don't know," Cynder said, "But if-"

"Here are the infirmary notes for Bolt and Celsius," Voltra said as he came back in, interrupting what Cynder was about to say.

"Thank you, Voltra," Spyro said as he took the infirmary notes, "I'll send these to Cyril and Trai. And make sure to take care of Bolt and Celsius." Spyro and Cynder then headed out of the infirmary to send the notes to the other instructors. They split up, Spyro sending the notes to Cyril, and Cynder sending the notes to Trai.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

After school, Spyro and Cynder returned to their own room where they met up with Alec.

"Hi, Alec!" Cynder exclaimed, "You wouldn't believe what happened in class today!"

"Try me," Alec said smugly.

Considering my experiences since I created that portal, including coming to a world that exists in a videogame, have a videogame character come into my world, turning into a silver dragon and have all new senses, and many other things. So chances are, I won't be too surprised. And besides, I'm the kind of person who's easily open to new ideas anyway.

"Actually, it's not as positive as Cynder made it seem," Spyro said, "For starters, after we did our usual performance, one of our students started going into a sneezing fit. We assumed that maybe there was more ash at the end than usual, and perhaps that Bolt had an allergy. But after we sent her to the infirmary, we actually found out that Bolt actually has a partial resistance to ash."

"That's when we assumed that perhaps there was more ash than there usually was," Cynder continued, "But then Shard came in and pointed out that there was in fact less ash than usual. But that is contradictory to how much ash was in her mucus."

Eww!

"Wait, Bolt. She's that little dragoness with the disability, isn't she?" Alec asked.

"Yes. Because of what Voltra calls a glitch in her brain, she has a stutter," Spyro said, "And because of her stutter, she doesn't like to talk much."

"How did you know she had a stutter?" Cynder asked, "Did she talk in your class?"

"Well, I'm sure these _silver scales_ of mine didn't play a part in that knowledge," Alec said sarcastically, "But seriously, I didn't know she had a stutter. I just could sense that she had some sort of disability."

"As we were saying, we realized that the only other alternative is that it was an intentional act," Spyro said.

"And we have an idea of who might be responsible," Cynder said, "There's this other dragoness we came across who said that Bolt was a lightweight when she started sneezing."

"Was that dragoness by any chance Fog?" Alec asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Cynder said, "Did she cause trouble in your class too, or was your 'silver dragon senses'?"

"Actually, it was a little bit of both," Alec said.

I knew that Fog was gonna be trouble. But I didn't realize she'd be this much trouble. Perhaps that's what I sensed from her, something more than just a troublemaker. But why?

"When I heard her say that, I turned around to glare at her," Cynder said, "But that's when...I don't even know what happened."

"Cynder and Fog were suddenly locked in a gaze for ten minutes," Spyro explained, "But Cynder said that she couldn't have been in that gaze for more than a couple minutes. I also think it's eerie how much she resembles Cynder."

"I know, right?" Alec said, "With the exception of her coloration, she looks just like Cynder."

"There's another thing about when I looked into Fog's eyes," Cynder said nervously, "When I looked into her eyes, I saw her as she appears. But I didn't sense a student or another dragoness or anything like that. When I saw her, I felt like I was seeing myself."

"Well, she does look allot like you. Maybe that it was just messing with your mind or something," Spyro said, "After all, you did loose track of time."

"No. There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Alec asked.

I could sense that there was more to what Cynder had to say. Or perhaps it's that she was having trouble putting it into words. But it wasn't just messing with her mind.

And if you want to argue, you can send your argument to my silver scales.

"Alec's right, there is more," Cynder said, "It's not necessarily that I saw myself in her, but more that I saw what could have been. What I sensed in Fog was myself, if Spyro never freed me from Malefor. I saw who I could have been."

"But if I hadn't freed you from Malefor, you'd still be the Terror of the Skies in that adult transformation," Spyro said.

"Spyro, your ability to listen is starting to become on par with Sparx'," Alec said, "And Sparx has no ability to listen."

"Hey, I take offense to that," Sparx said as he came in with Mal and the children.

"What's the 'Trar of the Skies'?" Iggy asked.

"It's _Terror_ of the Skies. And it's just a scary story," Alec said as Iggy climbed onto Spyro's back, "And what I meant was that it's about what Cynder sensed in Fog, not what she saw."

"Fog? But it's not foggy outside," Sparx said clueless.

"And this is what I mean about Sparx having no ability to listen," Alec said, "Fog is the name of a new student. And she looks allot like Cynder."

"Great. One Cynder was bad enough," Sparx said, "Now we have a clone of Cynder as a student here."

I believe that there could be allot about Fog that could potentially connect her to Cynder. But the possibility of her being a clone would be stepping far beyond the boundaries of those possibilities.

"I'm pretty sure that Fog is worse than what you believe Cynder to be," Alec said to Sparx, "I could sense trouble from her from the start. And believe me, I didn't have to be a silver dragon to figure that out."

"Can you tell us the story of the Tear of the Skies?" Vortex asked, "I like scary stories!"

"I don't," Aurora said nervously.

"Don't worry, Aurora," Spyro said, "The story does have a happy ending. And it's 'Terror', not 'Tear'."

As I watched the children, I started thinking about how I used to be when I was that young. In fact, some of my first memories were when I was three. It on my third birthday that I first met Trisha. Back then, she was a brat. We had just moved in about six months previously.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Are you sure it's wise to be putting the situation into Cynder's control?" Cyril asked, "I mean, you heard about what happened today."

"I don't think it's wise to take my nephew's words to heart," Terrador said, "But whether Quarry was telling the truth or not, I believe Spyro and Cynder are the best choices. Both Spyro and Cynder are orphans, even though Spyro was adopted later on."

"Don't forget that it's not just Cynder who would take on this burden," Volteer said, "Spyro will be there as well."

"I suppose you are correct," Cyril admitted, "If something does go wrong with Cynder, Spyro will be there to help."

"But as I was saying, Spyro and Cynder are orphans, so I believe they would be the best candidates for this task," Terrador continued, "After all, the best way to understand how an orphan thinks is if you yourself have been an orphan. The only alternative is to send her to Sienna and Ember. And they're too young to take care of a child."

"So were Spyro and Cynder when they mated," Cyril pointed out.

"That's not the point. Cynder will be able to understand her the best," Terrador said, "Besides, we're too busy. And someone has to deal with her attitude."

* * *

**What's the deal with Fog? And why did she and Cynder get stuck in a gaze and lose track of time? And it seems that the Trar of the Skies is nothing more than a scary story now.**

**And what were the guardians talking about?**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 3~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Spyro and Cynder are orphans, so I believe they would be the best candidates for this task," Terrador pointed out, "After all, the best way to take understand how an orphan thinks is if you yourself have been an orphan. The only alternative is to send her to Sienna and Ember. And they're too young to take care of a child."

"So were Spyro and Cynder when they mated," Cyril pointed out.

"That's not the point. Cynder will be able to understand her the best," Terrador said, "Besides, we're too busy. And someone has to deal with her attitude."

"If you'd like, I'll take her to Spyro and Cynder's room right now," Volteer said.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Terrador said. Volteer then went to get the dragoness and take her to Spyro and Cynder.

"Fine, I'll go along with your idea," Cyril said reluctantly, "I just hope you know what you're doing."

Terrador watched as Cyril turned and left the room. Terrador then did the same in another direction, "So do I."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

In the training dojo, an earth dragon was spending some extra time training himself. His slate gray scales were covered with scars, covering a muscular frame. His beige eyes shown signs of intense focus. It was obvious that he had been training for a while non-stop from the sweat dripping from his face. This dragon was known for training hard, but this was more than usual. It seemed that something was bothering him.

The earth dragon was so focused on his training that he didn't noticed the snow white dragon with a cyan underside coming in. The ice dragon came in just in time to see the earth dragon smash three training dummies at once with his boulder-like tail mace.

"Hey Quarry, aren't you usually done in here by now?" the ice dragon asked.

The distraction caused Quarry to miss the dummy he was aiming for, making him frustrated. "Damn it, Shard!" Quarry growled in frustration before looking behind him to glare at Shard, "Why did you have to distract me like that?!"

Quarry and Shard have never gotten along. Whenever they get together, they always get into some kind of argument.

"Hey, don't blame me for your shortcomings," Shard countered defensively as he walked towards the center of the dojo, "Maybe if you had stopped training when you were supposed to, then you wouldn't have been distracted by me and wouldn't have embarrassed yourself."

"Since when was there a schedule for the training dojo?" Quarry asked, "And what do you think you're doing here while I'm still training?"

"Normally you would have ended your training session over two hours ago," Shard replied, "This is the time when I usually train."

Quarry then turned to face Shard directly, "The dojo doesn't have any schedules. So I'm here until I'm done," Quarry growled, "And I am not done yet! And for that reason, you shouldn't be here!"

"What if I were to offer you a compromise that will get us what we both want?" Shard offered, "We have a sparring match. That way, I get my training in, and you don't have to leave."

"I suppose it would be satisfying to get the chance to smack that smart-ass smirk off your face," Quarry said, "Alright, let's go."

"You shouldn't overestimate your abilities," Shard pointed out.

Quarry and Shard took on a battle stance. Shard observed certain details about Quarry; heavy breathing, dripping with sweat, muscles quivering. It was obvious that Quarry was exhausted. But he was too proud to admit it. This gave Shard an advantage. He was far from being one of the stronger students physically. But Quarry's exhaustion may help to put them both on par. And with Shard's abilities with his element, plus being a good tactician, means that Shard most likely had the upper-hand at the moment.

The training dummies that were previously in the dojo had vanished, allowing the two dragons open space for their sparring match. Once everything was ready, they charge at each other.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec, Spyro, and Cynder were getting the children ready for bed. Iggy and Aurora went to bed obediently. But Vortex, being the energetic young dragon that he is, wasn't going to bed that easily. Spyro and Cynder were used to this though.

Spyro used his earth element to grab Vortex' paws and even pulled him in half way into the floor.

Cynder's fear ability would normally be more efficient against Vortex. But bed time is a different story. If Cynder uses her fear ability to someone before they go to bed, they end up having nightmares. Last time she used her fear ability to get Vortex to bed, he had a nightmare that he willingly tried to kill everyone.

"Now either you go to bed willingly, or you can stay trapped in the floor until you go to sleep," Spyro said confidently.

I know for a fact that Spyro's not bluffing. He's done it before...several times.

Vortex tried to struggle to get free. But as much as he tried to struggle, he knew better than to actually think he could escape. His struggling was mainly to help himself burn off his energy more easily.

"I think Volteer is coming," Alec said as his Silver Dragon senses kicked in.

"Are you sure about that?" Cynder asked, "I mean, why would..."

Cynder was interrupted when there was a knock at the door. When they checked, it was none other than Volteer, "The guardians have requested that you two take care of one of the new students," Volteer said, going strait to the point, "We felt that it would be best that she's taken care of by dragons who understand what it's like to be orphaned. With you as her parental figures, you can help to teach her the difference between right and wrong."

After hearing Volteer's request, Alec sensed another dragon outside the doorway, "The dragoness you speak of is Fog, isn't it?" Alec asked. The dragoness in question then came out from behind the entrance way.

Seeing the young gray dragoness, Cynder's heart began to race as her nerves went into overdrive. What was it about Fog that disturbed Cynder?

"Do I have to stay with _them_?" Fog asked, intentionally keeping her attention away from Cynder.

I could tell that Cynder was uncomfortable with Fog there. Then again, you'd have to be blind not to see that. Fog seemed much calmer than Cynder. However, I could sense on the inside that she was just as nervous as Cynder.

"I apologize if you are unsatisfied with this decision, Fog," Volteer said, "But Spyro and Cynder was the best choice to assist you. And I'm sure that Al...I mean, Silver will also be helpful."

"Why is there a dragon stuck in the floor?" Fog asked. The others looked where she was looking and saw Vortex, who was still trying to struggle to get out of the floor.

"It's a long story," Spyro said, "But to sum it up, it had to do with trying to get him to bed."

"Vortex tends to be a little hyperactive at times," Alec said, receiving questioning looks from the others, "Okay, he tends to be very hyperactive. I probably should take Volteer and head out now."

"Where do you intend on taking me?" Volteer asked.

"There's trouble in the training dojo," Alec pointed out, "You all will notice it in about three...two...one..."

A rumbling sound was heard throughout the temple. The rumbling originated from the training dojo. "I presume this is the trouble you spoke of," Volteer realized, "How did you know that...right. Silver dragon."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Shard quickly moved out of the way of Quarry's charge attack, causing him to skid on the icy floor. Shard had turned the dojo into a frigid tundra with his elemental abilities, giving him the advantage. Quarry had used up all of his elemental energy, making him rely solely on melee attacks. The cold air was also draining his strength faster as well. But Quarry refused to give up the fight.

Shard was also getting tired. But not as tired as Quarry. Shard was specifically trying to wear Quarry down. But Quarry was being stubborn and refused to quit.

Let's just hope that it doesn't kill him.

"Come on Quarry! We both know that you no longer have the strength to win!" Shard shouted, "You're energy's becoming dangerously low!"

"I...I'm still able...able to fight!" Quarry stuttered as he shivered, "What does...doesn't kill me will only...only make me...make me stronger!"

"But don't you..." Shard was interrupted by another one of Quarry's charge attacks, "...Don't you get it?! If you continue like this, it _will_ kill you!" Shard and Quarry hated each other with a passion. But neither of them actually wanted to see the other get killed.

Because of the icy terrain, Quarry slipped and crashed into wall, falling to the floor as his body went limp. Shard saw that something wasn't right. Quarry was no longer shivering. He was just laying there lifelessly, "Quarry?!" No answer. Shard realized that Quarry must've reached his limit...finally. But if he didn't get medical attention, Quarry could end up dieing of hypothermia.

When Shard went to check on his sparring partner, he was suddenly taken off guard as Quarry attacked him and tackled him to the ground. He was just playing possum, "Looks like I...I..." Quarry's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. When Shard got back to his paws, he saw that Quarry wasn't breathing.

Shard wasn't physically strong enough to carry Quarry all the way to the infirmary. It would be different if this match hadn't lasted as long as it did. All Shard could do was use his remaining energy to remove the frozen tundra that he had created to at the very least slow the progression of hypothermia and hope that professor Silver noticed Quarry's life force dropping.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

On the way to the training dojo, I could sense a large amount of the ice element. It must be Shard, since he's often training at about this time. Although I was a little concerned. Normally he'd be done by now.

"I think Shard is currently in the training dojo," Alec said to Volteer, "I sense a large about of ice energy. And he's usually there at this time anyway."

"But you said that there was trouble," Volteer pointed out, "What is this trouble you spoke of?"

"I...I don't know," Alec admitted, "I can't always understand what I sense. And for all I know, that's normal for silver dragons. I don't know what the trouble is. I just sense..."

I just sensed something else. It was a second source of life force, separate from Shard's. It was so small that I didn't notice it over Shard's life force. And this second life force was fading. And fast.

"Volteer, we have to hurry!" Alec exclaimed, quickening his pace, "I think someone is in need of medical attention. And it's not Shard."

"Perhaps Shard had another one of his 'sparring matches' with Quarry!" Volteer suggested.

Not again.

"It's plausible," Alec said, "But it's never been this bad before! I think Quarry was pushed to his very limits! I think he's dieing!"

Alec and Volteer arrived at the training dojo. As they opened up the doors, they saw that everything was wet and cold. Most likely the remains of Shard's 'Tundra Cavern' ability, an ability where he uses his elemental power to affect the field around him and turn it into a frigid field of ice and snow. It's called the Tundra _Cavern_ ability because it's most affective when in an enclosed space, creating what appears as an ice cave.

Shard saw the two arrive and lead them towards Quarry, who was laying lifeless on the floor, "Professor Volteer, Professor Silver, Quarry needs help!" Shard explained, "He's not breathing! Tell me he's not-"

"He's not," _Professor Silver_ explained with confidence, "He's still alive. But he's fading fast. We need to get him stable before we bring him to the infirmary."

I went to Quarry and put one of my paws in a puddle of water. As I focused, I pulled my paw out of the water, pulling out the elemental energy as I did so. As I held ice energy in my paw, I then pulled out some life energy from the planet's life force. I then focused more as I merged the life energy with the ice energy into a stronger form of life energy. I then focused and began to merge the life energy with Quarry's own life force.

Volteer and Shard watched in awe as Silver was controlling so many different types of life force energy. Although the ice energy came from water, the water did originate as ice. The ice energy had an appearance like ice, but was fluid like water, and it didn't even have a physical form. The life force energy from the planet had a beige hue, most likely from being an earthy area.

Once Alec had merged the two energies, it had a white hue...or rather, it was like it was a color that was beyond the spectrum of colors that can be seen by then normal eye.

Shard was relieved when he saw Quarry breathing again. He was alive, "We should get him to the infirmary now," Silver commanded.

Volteer took Quarry and carried him to the infirmary as Silver and Shard followed.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Spyro had taken Vortex, who had finally gotten to sleep, to bed. Spyro has to be careful when releasing Vortex. It requires Spyro to use his earth element to release his feet, but doing so in a way that won't wake him up. And then he has to carry Vortex to his bed. Meanwhile, Cynder was trying to convince Fog that it would be good if she went to bed.

"I'm not a hatchling. I don't need ten hours of sleep," Fog said, arguing with Cynder.

"If you don't want to be treated like a hatchling, then you should stop acting like one!" Cynder countered, "I'm not trying to make you sleep like a hatchling. I'm just trying to give you a definable bed time."

"Why? It's the end of the week and don't have classes tomorrow," Fog countered back, "And besides, I'm not ti...ired." Fog yawned in the middle of saying 'tired', not helping her case.

Cynder grinned, gaining the upper paw, "If you're not tired, then what was that yawn for?"

"It...It was nothing!" Fog said defensively, trying to hide how tired she really was, "Why does a yawn have to mean I'm tired?"

Cynder could hear in Fog's voice that she wanted to rest, "I know you grew up without parents or a home," Cynder said in a soothing voice, "When was the last time you got to sleep at night in a warm comfortable bed, in a warm home? When was the last time you had someone to care for you?"

Fog's eyelids were beginning to grow heavier as she heard Cynder's soothing, motherly, inviting voice, "Well, the gua...ardians gave me a place to stay," Fog yawned.

"But could they be like parents?" Cynder continued, "We can be like your parents. And it all starts with going to bed." Cynder said as she specifically brought Fog in and put her in a bed.

As much as she tried to fight it, Fog was in a losing battle. Her eyes were closing further with each passing moment. The soft bed felt so inviting. Her head became heavier and heavier as it became attracted to the pillow. "...But...I...I'm not...not..." Fog had drifted off to sleep, giving off a light snoring.

"That was impressive, Cynder," Spyro said.

"Not really. I was just saying what I would want to hear to help me relax if I were in her position," Cynder said, "I don't know how. But I just knew it would work."

"Well, whatever works works...Cynder?" Spyro saw that she had laid her head on Fog's bed falling asleep herself. Spyro smile and helped her into the bed as well.

* * *

**What's bothering Quarry? And why does he and Shard hate each other so much? Do Spyro and Cynder have what it takes to take care of Fog? Will Quarry be okay? With the ability to control life energy, does Alec have the power to control life and death itself?**

**Go check out The1upguy's fics. Specifically his story TLOS: Sparx the Dragon and the sequel TLOS: Malefor's Legacy.**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 4~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec was back in his lab in the Human Realm.

Now that I had the chance, I was back home working on a device that can help have more control over the quantum reconfiguration when going through the portal to the Dragon Realm.

"Perhaps I can alter how the portal works by making the deconstructing and reconstructing stages separate from the reconfiguration stage," Alec said as he was talking to himself, "But that would mean I'd have to redesign the entire portal system itself."

As Alec was trying to figure out how to control the reconfiguration when going through the portal, the portal suddenly activated, gaining Alec's attention. After a few moments, someone came through...in his birthday suit.

Along with trying to figure out how to control the reconfiguration, I probably should also look into figuring out how to give people cloths.

Although perhaps I could be a feature of being able to control the reconfiguration.

The young man who came through the portal was about six feet tall. He had dark brown hair with light brown highlights. His hair was about medium length, reaching half way down his neck. He had rather thick eyebrows. His eyes were hazel, composing of browns, yellows, greens, and blues. He had a well built body. He looked to be about twenty years old.

Almost immediately after coming through the portal, this person suddenly fell over.

"Woah! I've flown high in the sky. But it's simply standing on two feet that gives me vertigo," the person said.

I couldn't recognize who this was at first. But then I heard him speak. And that's a voice I most certainly recognize.

"Spyro, is that you?" Alec asked as he got a set of cloths for him, "You don't look anything like what I would've expected." Alec then tossed Spyro the cloths, who was taking some time trying to figure out how to put on what.

"If I don't look anything like what you expected, then how did you know it was me?" Spyro asked.

"Your body may have been reconfigured down to a quantum level. But your voice is something that doesn't get reconfigured," Alec pointed out, "If you didn't say anything, I would've never have known it was you. So...what are you doing here in the Human Realm?"

"Damn this...How do you humans get these shirts on so easily?" Spyro asked as he threw the T-shirt he was trying to put on to the side. Spyro had managed to get the shorts on though, and that's what really mattered.

"Well, I suppose this shirt is slightly small," Alec replied as he helped Spyro to his feet, "But you're wearing shorts, and that's the important thing."

"Bare skin feels so soft and vulnerable. I feel so exposed without my scales," Spyro said as he wobbled slightly before standing upright, "And not being able to feel a tail or wings is a strange sensation."

"Welcome to the world of humanity," Alec exclaimed, "It's fascinating how even though humans are so vulnerable, we are potentially the most dangerous creatures on this planet."

"Anyway, sorry for showing up unannounced," Spyro said as he explored the details of his new body, "But I had to get away from Cynder and Fog. Those two have been at each other's throats all day."

"Why would Cynder and Fog be...oh right. You two are the ones given the responsibility...and burden of taking care of Fog," Alec said, "So, what's going on?"

"It's like they make such big deals out of the littlest things. They argue over things how clean the room to things as insignificant as what's for breakfast," Spyro said with a sigh, "It's like those two were born specifically as contradictions to each other."

**X ~ Flashback ~ X**

"I DON'T WANT FISH FOR BREAKFAST!"

"WELL I'M NOT GONNA MAKE ANYTHING ELSE!"

"I DON'T LIKE FISH!"

"EITHER YOU CAN HAVE FISH, OR YOU CAN STARVE!" Cynder and Fog have been arguing all morning. At the moment, they were arguing about what to have for breakfast. Fog was claiming that she didn't like fish, even though earlier she told Spyro that she wanted Fish for breakfast.

Spyro was in the other room with the other kids. He had only been awake for just over an hour, and Cynder and Fog's arguing was already giving him a pounding headache. The kids were afraid to go into the dining area with their mother and Fog arguing like they were.

**X ~ End Flashback ~ X**

"The annoying thing about that argument is that when I asked Fog what she wanted for breakfast, she asked for fish," Spyro said, "I just relayed that information to Cynder."

"You claim that they were born to contradict each other," Alec said, "But I think there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean by that?" Spyro asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," Alec said, "But I remember when I first met Fog, it was like I could sense Cynder's life force in her."

"So what? Are you saying that Cynder has a twin sister?" Spyro asked.

"Fog is too young to be Cynder's twin sister. Besides, because of when you, Cynder, and Sparx were in suspended animation in that crystal for three years, I'd figure that any twin sister of Cynder would appear older," Alec explained, "And besides, even twins have different life forces. I know that because Aurora and Vortex have different life forces. I can feel a connection between their life forces, but that's all."

"So what does that mean?" Spyro asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. Perhaps Fog is like a piece of Cynder that was left behind and took on it's own form," Alec randomly theorized, "Anyway, we're getting off topic. Where are the kids?"

"I left them with Mal," Spyro explained, "I told him about what's going on and that it's probably be best if they aren't around when Cynder and Fog are fighting."

"What were Cynder's thoughts on this?" Alec asked.

"She doesn't even know," Spyro said, "Considering how those two have been fighting, I don't even think they are aware of the fact that we're gone."

I couldn't help but grin about the situation. It was almost like something from a sitcom.

"I probably should check on how Quarry is doing," Alec said, changing the subject, "Last night we found him and Shard 'sparring' again."

"How bad was it this time?" Spyro asked.

"_Bad,_" Alec exclaimed, "This was the worse 'sparring match' yet. If I hadn't gotten there when I did Quarry would probably be dead right now."

This got Spyro's attention. Quarry and Shard's 'sparring matches' weren't uncommon. But this news of one of them being near death was a shock, "Shard nearly killed Quarry?!" Spyro asked in shock.

"No, it's not like that," Alec pointed out, "It's simply that Quarry wouldn't quit. According to Shard, Quarry was just over-training himself. He collapsed from exhaustion after he not only was pushing his limits, but completely ignoring his limits."

"Quarry's stubborn nature almost killed him," Spyro said to himself.

"Well anyway, you can stay here if you want. My mom is upstairs and I'm sure would be willing to show you around," Alec suggested, "But I'm gonna go check on Quarry."

"Thanks for the offer. But I think I'll come with you," Spyro said, "I should be getting back soon anyway. Sooner or later, Cynder will realized that the kids and I are not there."

With that said, Alec and Spyro went through the portal.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Uncle Mally, why do Fog and mommy hate each other?" Vortex asked.

"They don't hate each other," Mal said, trying to convince the children as well as himself.

"Then why do they fight all the time?" Aurora asked.

"It's not intentional. They see in each other something that they don't like," Iggy said, "But neither of them are consciously aware of what they're seeing in the other."

"That's an impressive theory," Mal said, "How did you come to that conclusion."

Iggy suddenly froze in place nervously, he didn't intend to actually say that out loud, "I...uh..." was all Iggy could say before he shied away. For a while now, Iggy has had the ability to sense things in others that others couldn't. He was afraid to tell anyone about these senses because he didn't know how others would react. That and he was afraid of these senses himself.

Of course Mal and the others took notice that Iggy was nervous, "Iggy, is there something you're not telling us?" Mal asked.

Iggy was now being torn apart. He didn't know why, but he knew there was something not right about his senses. And this fact is what scared him. And if someone else were to find out about his senses, he just knew that he would get in trouble...or worse. He didn't know why he knew, he just knew.

On the other claw, Iggy didn't like to lie. But if he told the truth, he'd get in trouble. But if he lied about his senses, his conscience would drive him nuts about it. And if he just didn't say anything, the others would know he's hiding something.

And what about his father? He loved his father very much. And his father loved him. But what if his father found out about his senses? If his father found out, he would be so disappointed in his son. But if he lied about it...about anything, his father would also be disappointed him him. No matter what scenario Iggy came up with, it was a no win situation.

Unable to tolerate the mental torture he was giving himself, Iggy just suddenly burst into tears and curled into a ball.

Mal wasn't sure how to react to this. He knew that there was something troubling Iggy. Mal knew that Iggy would never lie about something, but the truth seemed to be something he was afraid to reveal.

"It's alright Iggy. You don't have to tell me," Mal said, trying to hopefully calm the youngling down, "And I'm sure whatever the problem is, it's not as bad as you think it is."

Iggy wished he could believe him. But he knew it was as bad as he thought. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec and Spyro had just entered the infirmary. Now that he was going to be facing a student, he took on the alias of Silver.

I know that technically I didn't have to use the name 'Silver' while in the Dragon Realm. But how often do you hear about a dragon named Alec? Besides, I've been using the alias of Silver for three years now.

"I see you've been at it again," Spyro said when he saw Quarry laying there, "According to Silver here, you nearly killed yourself. In fact, I heard that if it weren't for Silver here, you'd be dead right now. What were you trying to..."

Silver had motioned to Spyro for him to stop. Silver then simply spoke two words, "What happened?"

"What does it matter? I would be better off dead anyway," Quarry said weakly.

"Are you trying to imply that you were intentionally trying to commit suicide by making it look like an accident?" Silver asked sternly.

I don't often feel like I should be forceful. And even when I am, I don't usually do it in such a stern way. But I highly disapprove of suicide. Suicide is basically a way of running away from your problems. It's basically giving up before you're even willing to try to fix the problem and potentially make your life better.

"I would never commit suicide! I'm not stupid!" Quarry exclaimed defensively, "It's just...what difference would it make if I'm gone? I'm a failure. There's no way I can live up to my uncle's expectations."

"And what exactly are those expectations?" Silver asked.

"To be strong, as strong as a guardian, so I can take my uncle's place as the earth guardian," Quarry said, "But since he won't accept me into guardian training, I'm obviously a failure in his eyes. And then there's Shard, who was just handed a chance for guardian training, even though he didn't even work for it, or is even as strong as me. He doesn't even have any family ties to Cyril. I work hard and get nothing! And Shard does nothing and gets everything!"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Quarry, who was too stubborn to quit, no matter what the cost, had lost his will to continue and has given up. But that wasn't even what surprised me the most. What really surprised me was that he was crying. I thought Quarry was to proud to let anyone see him cry. During that sparring session with Shard, it was more than just trying to get stronger. Quarry had in fact snapped.

"Is that really what your uncle's expectations are? To be strong?" Spyro asked before turning away, "I guess that means you are a failure."

"Spyro..." Silver said before Spyro continued.

"You're a failure, Quarry. But not in the way you think you are," Spyro continued, "For starters, do you really think your uncle's expectations of you are just to get stronger? I've known Terrador and the other guardians long enough to know that it takes more than brute strength to be a guardian. You do have the strength and the skill to be a guardian. However, to be a guardian, you also need intelligence and wisdom. You can't just rely on your own strength, you have to also rely on your opponent's weaknesses. You are far stronger than Shard is physically. But you never have won a sparring match against him. And do you know why? It's because he's capable of out thinking you. Next, you have to know when to quit. It's good to push your limits to know how far you can take yourself. But yesterday, you either didn't know your limits, or didn't care. And that almost cost you your life. A real guardian knows when to walk away from a fight. Whether it's because the fight is unnecessary or because you know you're not strong enough to win. You can't just recklessly push yourself to your death. Finally...you said it yourself. You quit. That proves that you're not guardian material. Because not only does a guardian refuse to quit, they don't even have the luxury of quitting. Do you think in the middle of the battle, a guardian can just choose to quit and go home? No! Do you think a guardian can just quit being a guardian because they think it's too hard? No! Do you think in the middle of a battle with the Dark Master, you can just quit? No! You've put too much time and effort into your training! If you quit, you won't just be admitting to everyone that you're not guardian material, but you'd be admitting to yourself that you can't do it! If you quit now, you'll never find out what the results will be later. You're not quitting because you're a failure. You're a failure because you quit."

Silver was gawking in awe of the speech Spyro gave.

When I heard Spyro give that speech, I think my jaw left a crater in the floor. I guess sometimes I forget that this is no longer the innocent young dragon from the games. Spyro had grown into an adult who's wisdom could rival, if not surpass Ignitus'

If you're watching right now, Ignitus, then you should be proud of the dragon you used to know from all those years ago has become.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to dig my jaw out of the floor.

Once Silver regained his composure, he went to Quarry, "Spyro and I will go talk with your uncle about your guardians training status. Until then, you think about what Spyro said." With that said, Alec and Spyro left the infirmary to go talk with Terrador.

* * *

**Fog and Cynder do NOT get along. Quarry and Shard do NOT get along. And what is this sense that Iggy has that he himself fears, and why does he think it's so wrong? And since when did Spyro grow up?!**

**Honestly, that speech that Spyro gave just came out of nowhere. I had the issues with Quarry in mind. But I intended to fix it with a gentle talk...not this sudden outburst. Whatever happened to that innocent little dragon who used to think he was a dragonfly?**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 5~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Shard was going to the infirmary to check on Quarry. It was partly to see if he was okay...and partly to tell him 'I told you so'. After all, Shard did warn him that he was endangering himself.

**X ~ Flashback ~ X**

"Come on Quarry! We both know that you no longer have the strength to win!" Shard shouted, "You're energy becoming dangerously low!"

"I...I'm still able...able to fight!" Quarry stuttered as he shivered, "What does...doesn't kill me will only...only make me...make me stronger!"

"But don't you..." Shard was interrupted by another one of Quarry's charge attacks, "...Don't you get it?! If you continue like this, it _will_ kill you!"

**X ~ End Flashback ~ X**

Quarry and Shard had gone to the infirmary that night. But shard was able to leave that same night, unlike Quarry, who had to stay in the infirmary to just to be sure that he'd make it through the night.

When Shard came to the infirmary, he heard voices inside. One of the voices was from instructor Spyro, "If it weren't for Silver here, you'd be dead right now," Spyro criticized, "What were you trying to..."

Spyro was then cut off by Silver, "What happened?"

"What does it matter?" Shard heard Quarry's weak voice, "I would be better off dead anyway."

Shard couldn't believe what he was hearing. Quarry was far too proud to admit defeat. If anything, last night was proof of that.

"Are you trying to imply that you were intentionally trying to commit suicide by making it look like an accident?" Shard heard Silver ask sternly.

"I would never commit suicide! I'm not stupid!" Quarry exclaimed defensively, causing Shard to let out a quiet laugh from how stupid he acted last night, "It's just...what difference would it make if I'm gone? I'm a failure. There's no way I can live up to my uncle's expectations."

_'That must be it! He must be frustrated that he can't live up to Terrador. That's why he was so intent on training.'_ Shard thought to himself.

"And what exactly are those expectations?" Shard heard Silver ask.

"To be strong, as strong as a guardian, so I can take my uncle's place as the earth guardian," Quarry said, "But since he won't accept me into guardian training, I'm obviously a failure in his eyes. And then there's Shard," this caught Shard's attention, "...who was just handed a chance for guardian training, even though he didn't even work for it, or is even as strong as me. He doesn't even have any family ties to Cyril. I work hard and get nothing! And Shard does nothing and gets everything!"

Shard was angry at what Quarry said about him. But he couldn't deny that he was right. He's never actually thought about it before. But all his life, Shard has had everything seemed to be handed to him...even when he didn't want it. Shard never asked to be a guardian candidate. In fact, he didn't even want it. Shard doesn't like attention, nor does he want the responsibility of a guardian. He was given something he didn't even want. He only accepted because...who says no to a guardian?!

Realizing this fact, Shard decided to go have a talk with Cyril.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Cyril was in his quarters reading a book. Although reading was nothing new for the ice guardian, this book was different. It was a book that Alec had brought. It was, in his world, a scifi fantasy story from a series a books called Animorphs.

Cyril was too proud to admit that he liked human stories. Especially a series that Alec himself enjoyed. But because he couldn't hide how he felt from Alec's senses, they arranged an agreement. Alec agreed to continue bringing these stories for Cyril to read under the condition that nobody else finds out. It was bad enough to admit to Alec that he liked something that Alec liked.

Suddenly, there was a knock at his door, startling him into hiding the book under a pillow as he saw Shard enter.

"Hello, young dragon. May I help you with something?" Cyril asked.

Shard was visibly apprehensive about talking about this. Especially to Cyril, considering it involved him. But before he could think about how to say it, Shard just blurted it out, "Master Cyril, why did you choose me to be a guardian candidate?"

Cyril could tell that Shard was uncomfortable about this. But Cyril was also curious, "Where is this coming from?"

Shard knew this was a bad idea and began to walk back towards the door, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't bother you with something like this."

"Hold on a minute. Come and sit down and we'll talk," Cyril commanded, "Now tell me. Why are you asking this? Do you not think you are worthy of being guardian?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Shard admitted, "All throughout my life, I've had just about everything handed to me. When I was five, everyone in my village caught the flu...except for me. I later found out that I had an immunity to the flu virus. Just three years ago, my life was saved by master Silver, who warded off that wolf with strength that came from will power alone. And last year, you offered me a chance at the guardian candidacy. And as grateful as I am for that, I honestly..." Shard paused, afraid of how Cyril would react. Although he didn't want to be a guardian, Shard still looked up to Cyril.

"It sounds to me that you're upset about the fact that you're too lucky," Cyril assumed, "But don't forget, you are only one of several dragons who were lucky three years ago. But what was it you were about to say when you stopped?"

"I don't want the attention of being a guardian," Shard sighed, "I've never liked attention. When I told others that I was immune to the flu, I was the center of attention for what felt like weeks. And it made me feel uncomfortable. When I told others that I had avoided death, I was also the center of attention. And if I'm a guardian, I'll be the center of attention for the rest of my life. How can I feel lucky if that luck makes me feel unlucky?"

"If you didn't want to be a guardian, then why did you accept the candidacy?" Cyril asked.

"What dragon in their right mind would turn down an opportunity like that? And even if I did, I'd be the center of attention for being the only dragon stupid enough to turn down a chance at being a dragon," Shard said, "But the reason I'm here isn't because I don't want to be a guardian. I just want to ask why I was given the opportunity when I haven't done any work to get it. Or rather, why was it just handed to me, yet Quarry, who has been training himself as hard as he possibly can to earn the candidacy, isn't being noticed when his uncle is the earth guardian himself?"

"I can't say what Terrador's conditions are for being a guardian candidate, since every guardian has the option to choose their own conditions. But if it were me, I'd agree that Quarry is more than strong enough to be a guardian. But what I see in him is raw power, and not enough control over that power. But under my conditions, I think he's too much of a brute. He acts before he thinks," Cyril explained, "As for you, let me just say that if you do not want to continue the candidacy, it is your choice. You can leave if you desire. However, let me explain why I chose you. Although you may not have tried to show off, you have shown that you are a talented tactician. You use your head to defeat Quarry, who is easily stronger than you physically. Not once has he defeated you. And you have great control over your element. You know how to use only the amount of energy needed, allowing you to conserve your energy for longer periods if need be. But more than that, you are wise beyond your years. Fighting abilities is not the only factor that makes a great guardian. Wisdom is a big factor in it. You have to know when to fight and when to walk away, when a situation threatens the world and when it's just a petty argument...when to know something is worth sacrificing your life over...like Ignitus. My point is, you have the traits that make a great guardian. If you choose not to continue, I will understand and respect your decision. But I truly believe you'd make a great guardian."

"So, what you're trying to say is that even though I haven't been specifically trying to get your attention to be a candidate, you still took notice of the work I've made?" Shard asked.

"That is correct, young Shard," Cyril said, "Before offering you the candidacy, I've spent two years observing your talents. You weren't just handed the opportunity. You have earned it."

"I guess that makes me feel better. And I'll think about it and let you know tomorrow if I'd like to continue or not," Shard said before heading towards the door. But he stopped and turned around, "Just one last thing. Do you think Quarry will ever become a guardian candidate?"

"He needs time to realize what it truly means to be a guardian," Cyril answered, "But in time, I believe he does have potential." Cyril then gave a sly grin, "Although, knowing your history with him, if he does become a guardian candidate, that will probably deter you from wanting to be one."

"I'm sure we'd be able to work something out," Shard said with a grin, "As you pointed out, he's never beaten me." With that said, Shard left the room, now with a better mood about why he was chosen to be a candidate.

Cyril sighed after Shard left. He wished Shard would've mentioned not wanting to be a guardian candidate sooner. And considering how much work he has put into the training, Cyril had no idea that this was even an issue.

After a few moments, he reached under his pillow and grabbed the book he was reading. It was a book that was difficult to put down. And he at least had to finish the chapter he left off on.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec and Spyro had arrived at Terrador's quarters. He was making plans for his next class when Spyro walked in, followed by Alec.

I was about to knock on the door, but Spyro just barged in. I guess Spyro was still a bit fired up from our talk with Quarry...and I'm still trying to get over the shock.

"Do you two need something?" Terrador asked, "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"It's not about what we need. It's about what Quarry needs," Alec said calmly.

"Do you realize how hard he's working at trying to be a guardian candidate?!" Spyro asked more forcefully.

"If you're asking why I haven't accepted him, even though he's my nephew..." Terrador paused, "...that's exactly why I'm not making it easy for him. If I accept him, many others will believe that I've playing favorites just because he's family. I'm making sure he earns that right."

"But you haven't even acknowledged him," Alec said.

"Did you know that he's thinking about giving up in even trying?" Spyro asked, "During his 'sparring match' with Shard, he put everything he had and more into that match! He nearly killed himself from exhaustion! In fact, if it weren't for Alec here, he probably would be dead right now!"

"I am grateful of Alec's assistance in the matter," Terrador said, "But if he's giving up, then I hate to say that he's not guardian material."

"I told him exactly that! But the reason he's giving up is because of you!" Spyro growled, though Terrador stood his ground, "He's thinking about giving up because he thinks you believe he's not guardian material! He nearly killed himself just to get you to notice his strength!"

"That's exactly why he's NOT a guardian candidate yet!" Terrador countered with force, "Quarry has proven that he's strong, yes! But that's just raw strength! But he's reckless and headstrong! And that's why he isn't worthy of being a candidate yet!"

"Does he know what your conditions for being a candidate is?" Alec asked calmly but firmly, "And what exactly are your conditions?"

Seeing as both Terrador and Spyro were fired up, I had to be firm to make sure to get their attention. But I also had to keep calm as well to make sure I didn't let a fired up tempter cloud my judgment.

"My conditions for being a guardian may not be as complex as the other guardians. But it's not just about being strong," Terrador said, calming back down, "Quarry has proven that he's strong, which is one of my conditions. But he also has to know how to use his strength. As I said, he's reckless, which shows that he doesn't use his strength properly. Another condition is to know when to fight and when to walk away. Quarry is too headstrong, not only fighting when he doesn't need to, but often is the one to start the fights. And he has to learn how to better control his raw power."

"And that leads to my original question. Does Quarry know what your conditions are?" Alec asked, still staying calm, "If not, then tell him. You do want him to be a candidate, right?"

"I never have told him what my conditions are," Terrador admitted, "But I do want him to be a candidate. Please understand that I'm not trying to push him away."

"But by ignoring him, you're doing just that, pushing him away," Spyro said, now more calmly, "I figure at the very least, you could at least explain to him what to improve on."

"But I...You're right. I should at least let him know how to improve," Terrador said, "And perhaps the fact that I'm explaining how to improve will show that I'm not trying to push him away."

"That's good to hear," Alec said.

"I still have some work to do now. But I'll go to see him tomorrow," Terrador said.

With that, Alec and Spyro left Terrador's quarters.

I'll be honest. That actually went better than I thought it would.

* * *

**So Shard never truly wanted to be a guardian candidate to begin with. And it seems he may choose to quit. Admittedly, who would pass up an opportunity like that? But not everyone wants attention. And Terrador will let Quarry know how to improve, and hopefully deter him from giving up.**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 6~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

As Spyro and I headed back towards Spyro's quarters, I began to sense something. I couldn't quite tell what it was. But I figured we should get going.

"I think we should hurry back to you place," I suggested, "I sense something...I think from Iggy."

"Is he hurt?!" Spyro asked, worried about the possibility.

"No, not that I can sense," Alec said, "But something just doesn't seem right."

With that said, Spyro and Alec hurried back. When they got back, other than Cynder and Fog still arguing about something random, they saw that Iggy was laying in a corner all curled up in a ball.

"Is something wrong with Iggy?" Spyro asked immediately.

"I'm not exactly sure," Mal said, "He just broke into tears. It looks like he thinks he's done something wrong."

Suddenly, a whimper came from the little ball that was Iggy.

"Well, did he do anything wrong?" Alec asked.

"No, not that I know of," Mal said, "It just happened after he came up with a theory about why Cynder and Fog are always arguing."

"Iggy said that mommy and Fog argue all the time because they each see something in the other that they don't like," Aurora said, "He said they aren't consciencely aware of what they see, so it's not intestinal."

It took me a moment to realize what Aurora was trying to say.

"I think you mean they aren't _consciously_ aware, and it's not _intentional_," Alec correctedly.

"Isn't that what I said?"

Before I said anything about that, I looked over at the two arguing dragonesses and sensed their life forces. And just as I remember from before, I sensed Fog as having the same life force as Cynder. In fact, Iggy's theory may help to explain some things for me. Not everything though.

"I don't think that was just a theory," Alec said, "Something has been bugging me about Fog. And it's the fact that her life force is identical to Cynder's."

"You mean like twins?" Aurora and Vortex said in unison.

"No. Because even though twins have very similar life forces, they are still different," Alec explained, "But what I'm curious about is how Iggy knew about that."

Iggy then let out another whimper.

"Iggy, is there something you're hiding from us?" Spyro asked in a soft tone.

After a few moments, Iggy sighed. It was a no win scenario. Either way, he was gonna be in trouble. But he figured if he kept it from is father, not only would it bother his conscious, but if his father found out, he would be upset about what's wrong, and upset that he lied about it. So comparing one element of trouble as opposed to three, he chose to tell them.

"Well...I..." Iggy was obviously nervous about this.

"Don't worry, Iggy," Spyro said soothingly, "I promise that whatever it is, I won't get mad at you."

Iggy wished he could believe that. But he knew his ability was wrong. But his father's words helped to calm him down, "Well, for as long as I can remember, when I sometimes see something, my brain will come up with a story about it," Iggy explained, "It's like...it's like my eyes say one thing, and my brain says something else. Ask uncle Alec. He knows I'm telling the truth."

"You must be mistaken, Iggy," Spyro said, "Alec's ability doesn't allow him to read minds."

"No, I can't read minds. But Iggy was telling the truth," Alec said.

I explained how in the Human Realm, there are lie detector tests. I explained that I used my ability to detect the same things a polygraph test would.

"...So like Iggy said, he's telling the truth," Alec said.

"But how did Iggy know you were..." Mal said before Alec interrupted him.

"He said it himself. His eyes tell him one thing, and his brain tells him another," Alec explained, "I assume he was looking at me and just saw me standing here. But his mind told him that I was sensing his life force. And specifically to detect if he was lying."

"Iggy's ability sounds like some kind of foresight, or telepathy," Mal said.

"Or perhaps the pool of visions," Alec added.

"I'm in trouble now, aren't I?" Iggy whimpered.

"Why would you think that?" Spyro asked, "If I'm disappointed about anything, it's that you thought I'd be angry at you having an ability like this."

"Bu...But this ability is wrong!" Iggy exclaimed.

"Why would you think having a special ability like this is wrong?" Spyro asked.

"I wouldn't disregard Iggy's feelings so quickly," Alec said, "I can sense that he is terrified of his ability. And I can't put my hand on it, but something doesn't feel right about his ability. And as he said, his brain tells him something else. Perhaps his own ability is telling him there's something wrong with his ability."

"Don't worry, Iggy. If there is something bad about your ability, it's not your fault," Spyro said to try to comfort him, "And we all agree that we have no reason to be upset with you, Iggy. We're all here to support you. Me, your mom, Aurora and Vortex, your uncles Mal and Alec, and even the guardians."

Iggy paused before he lunged at Spyro, hugging him with tears in his eyes.

"I don't know what this ability of Iggy's is," Alec said to Mal, "But I am concerned about it. After all, he was so afraid of his power being wrong that he hid it from Spyro for his entire life."

"You do realize that's only three years, right?" Mal said.

"Well, if you want to get technical," Alec said, "But my point is, when has Iggy ever hid anything from Spyro? He's open to Spyro with just about everything."

"I guess I see your point," Mal said.

"Also, when did Spyro grow up?" Alec asked.

I told Mal about the whole incident in the infirmary, and the speech that Spyro gave to Quarry.

"It seems like Spyro has gained some of Ignitus' wisdom," Alec finished.

"And Terrador's forcefulness," Mal added, "And Cyril's persistence."

"And Volteer's long-windedness," Alec finished, "I guess when you spend so much time with a friend, you don't tend to notice the changes in them until something intense happens that makes them express themselves as being older."

"Have you noticed any changes in me?" Mal asked.

"Let's see..."

It took me a few moments, but I managed to remember when we first met Mal. And he has changed.

"Well...physically you're allot larger, more muscular...your horns are allot bigger. And beginning to look a little more like the dark master's version of you, but with several differences, since the dark master could only do so much in assumptions," Alec explained, "As for personality, I'd say you've grown more willing to be social...even if you're upset that you can use a name that is now considered a curse. And yet you're still afraid to try that portal to see my world."

"I'm...I'm working up to that," Mal said sheepishly, "As for my name, it does bother me that I can't use my own name...but..."

"But..."

"For some reason, I've had another name in my head for a while now," Mal explained, "It's not a name that I consciously created. It's just been hanging in my head for a while now. It's the name 'Maffrin'."

Alec gave that some thought. Then he looked over at Cynder and Fog, "So they've been going at it non-stop?"

"It's crazy, I know," Mal agreed, "I fact, I think one of them said something about what the dark master's real intent was."

"That's...unexpected," Alec said.

"That's it! I am sick and tired of you thinking you can get away with anything you want around here!" Alec and Mal overheard Cynder say, "You will do as I tell you, or you can go to your room this instant!"

"What makes you think you have any authority over me?! You're not my mother!" Fog countered before she shot towards the door to leave.

"Something's not right about what just happened," Alec said.

I couldn't figure out what it was. But I could sense that there was something deeper to what was just said than just what was seen. Also, after Fog left, it seemed like there was some kind of discharge coming from Cynder's life force.

After a few moments, Cynder realized that she didn't want Fog to get in trouble, "No...Fog...wait, come back!" Cynder said as she ran after the little dragoness. However, she was already long gone, "Please! I need to get Fog back! I don't want her to get hurt!"

Talk about flip-flopping your priorities. But, I couldn't deny that I had the same desire to help.

"Alright, let's go find Fog," Alec said, "Spyro?"

"What is it?" Spyro asked, coming back out.

Cynder then ran strait to Spyro, "Fog ran away, and we gotta go find her!" Cynder said frantically.

"Huh. I thought I sounded quieter out here," Spyro said, receiving a glare from Cynder, "Sorry. Let's go find her."

"Wait, who's gonna stay and watch the kids?" Mal asked.

"I hope you don't mind. But I suggest Spyro stays," Alec suggested, "Thanks to Cynder and Fog fighting, she couldn't really watch then while Spyro and I were at the infirmary, so Mal had to be the babysitter. So I think it would be best if a parent watches them now. And seeing Iggy's reaction earlier, I think Spyro would be the best choice to comfort him while we look for Fog." The others nodded in agreement before Alec, Cynder, and Mal went to look for Fog.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

The three dragons have been searching for two hours now. Alec was trying to use his life element to sense through the temple.

Trying to find Fog with my ability was not easy, considering Fog and Cynder have identical life force energy. But that's why I made sure Cynder was close to my while using that ability. So I know that one version was right next to me.

However, not even that was working.

"It may be more difficult for me to find her because you and her have the same life force," Alec pointed out, "But I should've been able to sense something by now."

"Alec, do you suppose you could use your senses to retrace our steps?" Mal asked, "Would you be able to pick up a trail?"

Alec took a moment to test that theory, using the trails they would've left while looking for Fog. Success! "Theoretically, I can do it," Alec said, "But I'll have to rely on Fog going someplace Cynder hasn't been."

Alec took a few moments to retrace their metaphorical steps back to their quarters. Then instead of following outwards the direction they had gone, Alec was able to detect a trail going the other way.

I was able to find Fog's trail. But I only knew it as being hers because it veered off on a different direction than we went. And thankfully, Cynder didn't pass by that doorway again after we left.

"Success!" Alec explained, "I sense Cynder's residual life force energy heading in a direction we haven't even checked yet."

"Are you sure it's her?" Cynder asked.

"Well, the residual energy degrades over time. And the latest you would've been down that direction would've been some time yesterday," Alec explained, "And from the degradation of the trail, I wouldn't have been able to sense that from that long ago. Or if I had, it certainly wouldn't be as strong as it is now. Why didn't we check down that corridor anyway?"

"Because that's the direction I know I would've gone," Cynder explained, "And since me and Fog are complete opposites, I knew she couldn't have gone that way."

"I can't argue with that theory," Mal said.

"The logic is sound. But I disagree with the end result," Alec argued, "I assume you've heard of the phrase 'opposites attract'." Alec then got questioning looks from the two dragons, "Then again, perhaps that's just a saying that my world came up with. Think of it like a magnet. Each magnet has a north pole and a south pole. Now, if you have two magnets, the north pole of one magnet will be attracted to the south pole of the other magnet. If Cynder and Fog were opposites, they would most likely be more accepting of each other. However, it seems like they repel each other. And the north pole of one magnet will repel the north pole of another magnet. Cynder and Fog have identical life forces."

"So you're saying Cynder intentionally lead us the other way?" Mal asked.

"I didn't intentionally do anything!" Cynder snapped.

"I believe she's right," Alec agreed, "It was a subconscious choice. Fog went in one direction, so Cynder, being repelled, chose to go the other direction. But from what I've sensed from Cynder and Fog's life forces, coupled with Iggy's theory about them, I'm willing to believe they have more in common with each other than they'd like to believe."

"If I hate Fog so much, then why do I have such a strong desire to find her?!" Cynder exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes.

"I said you two repel each other. I never said you hated her," Alec explained, "In fact, I'm willing to bet that your time as a mother has heightened your protective instincts. And your maternal instincts probably allowed you to bond with her. And if that's the case, I'm willing to bet that you think of her as if she were your own daughter."

"I...well..." Cynder didn't know how to react, "I guess you're right. As much as we fight each other, the only thing that separates her as being my daughter is my own flesh and blood."

"So where is she now?" Mal asked Alec, prompting him to continue.

Alec took another moment to follow the trail. However, he was disappointed with what he found, "I don't know where she is." Alec said, "The trail just stops. I don't know where she could've gone."

"Well, where does the trail end?" Cynder asked.

Alec did some focusing on the location and came to a startling conclusion, "Oh no! I think she was at the portal!" Alec exclaimed, "But she couldn't have known how to activate it, could she?"

The three dragons ran down the corridors towards Alec's portal. Once they got there, it was as Alec feared. The trail ends at the portal.

Suddenly, Spyro came running down the corridor with Aurora and Vortex behind him, "Cynder, Iggy's gone missing!"

* * *

**So, it seems that little Iggy's ability is...his eyes tell him something, and his brain tells him something else. Sounds like a pretty neat ability. So why is Iggy so afraid of it? And would you consider having Volteer's long-windedness a compliment or an insult?**

**And it seems like Cynder's feelings for Fog goes back and forth faster than a ping-pong ball. But at least she is worried about Fog's safety.**

**First Fog, now Iggy. Why do they keep losing their children?**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 7~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec, Cynder, and Mal ran down the corridors of the temple, following Fog's trail towards Alec's portal. Once they got there, it was as Alec feared. The trail ends at the portal.

I took a moment to check the portal. And sure enough, it had been activated recently.

Suddenly, Spyro came running down the corridor with Aurora and Vortex behind him, "Cynder, Iggy's gone missing!"

Seeing how Spyro and Cynder lose children, I'm not sure if they'd make good babysitters. But thanks to my new ability to backtrack, I can find Iggy easier.

"Give me a second," Alec said, "I'm gonna try and find Iggy." Alec then began to focus.

After a few moments, Spyro was wondering what Alec was doing. As Mal explained, Cynder asked, "Have you found anything yet?"

After another moment, Alec replied, "I sense his residual energy in his room," Alec said, "It leads to...I think a corner. Then suddenly, his life force disperses..."

"What does that mean?!" Cynder asked frantically.

"I'm not sure. It's like he's there one moment, and then he's gone...wait," Alec said before sensing something, "I'm sensing where his energy...phases back into existence..."

Oh crap.

"It appears at the portal...and then the energy just stops...like Fog's," Alec explained.

"So Fog and Iggy are in the Human Realm now?!" Cynder exclaimed.

"Mal, can you go get Shard and Quarry?" Alec asked, "I'm gonna need help finding them in the Human Realm."

"I'm on it," Mal said before heading off.

"But what about Quarry's injuries?" Spyro asked, "The healer asked to keep him overnight."

"He's still injured, yes," Alec said, "But he's more capable than how he appeared in the infirmary. The reason he seemed so injured was emotional. He lost his motivation. For Quarry, I consider this a field test. But Shard's skill will be helpful."

"What about Aurora and Vortex?" Spyro asked, "We can't just leave them here alone. And they don't know what to expect when they go through that portal."

"But you do," Alec pointed out, "And even though they've never seen it, they know where I'm from. Although, this will be Cynder's first time experiencing a human form too. And that reminds me, I'd better get things prepared before they come through. I'll get some cloths set up for them. You wait here."

Alec then went through the portal.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Quarry was now walking down the corridors of the temple with Mal looking for Shard. Terrador had just had a discussion with his nephew about his admission as his successor as the earth guardian. Quarry was thinking about what that discussion meant to him.

**X ~ Flashback ~ X**

"Hello, Quarry," Terrador said as he sat next to his nephew's infirmary bed, "Spyro and...Silver came to speak with me about you. And to be honest, I'm disappointed in you."

"I'm surprised you even take notice of me," Quarry countered, "But at this point, you've told me what I've already know. I already know you're disappointed in how weak I am."

"I'm not talking about your strength!" Terrador growled, "I'm talking about you giving up!"

"Well...why shouldn't I?" Quarry asked, turning away from his uncle, "No matter how much I train, I can't become strong enough to be the earth guardian."

"When it comes to raw strength, you surpassed that long ago," Terrador said, "But being a guardian means more than just being strong."

"Well...what else do I need to do to be a guardian?" Quarry asked.

"I prefer not to tell," Terrador said, disappointing Quarry, "I feel that it's best for my potential candidate to learn for himself. Because if I just told you, you wouldn't really learn anything." Quarry then began subtly laughing at what he heard, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's just that, that sounds like something Volteer might say. Or even perhaps Cyril," Quarry said with a laugh, "Talking about learning sounds...I guess...wise. It's not exactly what I'd expect from you."

"Yeah, I guess I do sound like someone else when I talk about learning," Terrador said with a slight laugh, "But I am the current leader of the guardians. So it's my job to be able to think wisely."

"Yeah. Your strength combined with Cyril's icy cold personality," Quarry joked, "That'd be a dangerous combination."

After taking some time to settle down, Terrador continued, "I won't tell you exactly what you need to do. But I will give some advice," Terrador said, "First of all, you have raw power. So think about why Shard keeps beating you, even though you are so much stronger than him. Also, it's not always the best idea to finish conflicts through fighting. Choose your battles wisely."

Quarry wasn't the best at figuring things out. But he would make sure to keep what his uncle said in mind.

"And as one last note, if you ever choose to give up and stop trying, I will see that as you resigning from your candidacy," Terrador said, "And once you leave your candidacy, you do not get a second chance with me. Once you leave, you can't come back."

"Then I will continue to try and become a guardian candidate," Quarry said, now with more confidence. Now that he knew Terrador was actually paying attention to him, and that he did have some praise, Quarry was in higher spirits.

At that moment, Mal came in to see Quarry. He wasn't expecting Terrador to be there, "Oh...hello, Terrador," Mal said, "I'm here to ask Quarry if he's willing to help us find Fog and Iggy."

"Where were they last?" Terrador asked.

"Well, Fog was seen last running away because she and Cynder had a fight. As for Iggy, he was last seen in his room," Mal said, "While we were looking for Fog, Iggy just disappeared. ...Silver was able to track Fog's trail to the portal. And he also sensed that Iggy's trail seems to just appear from the shadows by the portal, and end at the portal just like Fog. So we think they may have gone through the portal into the Human Realm, and we wanted to get Quarry and Shard to help."

Terrador turned towards Quarry, nodding his head in approval, "If you go, consider it a test," Terrador said, "Perhaps you may learn something in the Human Realm."

"If nothing else, I'll get a look at the world instructor Silver always talks about," Quarry said sarcastically. But that was his way of saying he's coming.

**X ~ End Flashback ~ X**

"So, you came to get me _and_ Shard?" Quarry asked, "Is it necessary to get both of us?"

"Silver believes so," Mal said, "And more people will mean raising the chances of finding Fog and Iggy."

"Well...do we really need to find Fog?" Quarry asked, "I mean, she gets on everybody's nerves."

"For starters, she's not the only one who's lost," Mal said, "Spyro's son, Iggy is also lost. And both Silver _and_ Iggy seem to sense something about her."

"What is it that they sense?" Quarry asked.

"It's complicated," Mal said, "It's really something only they can understand. But when it comes to Silver's abilities, I've learned not to question them."

"And what about Iggy's sense you talked about?" Quarry questioned.

"Honestly, I'd prefer to respect his wishes and not go into detail about his senses," Mal said, "It's a touchy issue with him."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Mal and Quarry had found just who they've been looking for. Shard, "I'm glad we found you, Shard," Mal said, "I came to ask for your help. Or to be more specific, Silver asked for your help."

"My help in what?" Shard asked.

"In finding Fog and Iggy, who have gone missing in the Human Realm," Mal explained, "To be more specific, Silver believes your tactical knowledge will be helpful."

"And what about Quarry?" Shard asked, "Is he up to this?"

"If it makes you feel any better, you can think I'm doing this for my own benefit," Quarry said, "But during that sparring match...I lost sight of what I was trying to accomplish. The only thing on my mind last night was to get Terrador's approval. However, that was the only thing on my mind, and I couldn't see that I had made a mistake. Because of what I had on my mind, I wasn't actually thinking. And now, I don't have to like you, and you don't have to like me. But this is something that doesn't concern our rivalry. And I know you are smart enough to agree that if we have to, we should at least try to work together. There are a couple of scared...well...there's one scared hatchling, and a kid who's too stubborn to be scared. So...truce?"

Shard was shocked at this speech. He never considered Quarry as stupid, but that he acts without thinking. Perhaps this is what to expect when Quarry chooses thinking over acting. Shard then grabbed Quarries extended paw, "Truce."

The three dragons then headed towards the portal.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"It's strange," Cynder said, "I have so many new sensations with this human body of mine. But at the same time, I feel comfortable with it. It's new not having a tail and wings, but it's like I don't know how I would use them anyway."

"That's to be expected," Alec said, "Every aspect of your body had transformed into human, including your body and senses...and even the brain itself. The human brain isn't designed to sense wings or a tail. And that's why even though your body has changed, it still feels natural. That's the same reason why I was able to easily pick up on how to fly and use my tail along with my life element, even though I. My dragon brain does know how to use them."

Cynder's human form isn't what you might expect. For being a black dragoness in the Dragon Realm, she actually has very pale skin as a human. Though she did have black hair. Specifically, she short sleek black hair, kinda like a tomboy. Her figure...looked malnourished. I wonder if her time under the Dark Master's control has something to do with that. But she still had her emerald eyes.

Aurora and Vortex...were accurate I suppose. Vortex had light colored skin with dark brown hair that was short and sleek like his mothers. His left eye was emerald, like normal. But his right eye...the dragon version wouldn't be accurate for human. But on occasion, people are born with different colored eyes. And in this case, his right eye was more like a minty green. Aurora, like her brother, was relatively accurate to her dragon form. Her skin looked more tanned, and she had blond hair that was spiky, like her father's. Her right eye was blue, while her right eye was more cyan. But in general, you could tell that they were twins.

Vortex didn't seem phased by the least from the changes. But Aurora seemed to need the comfort from her parents. Being as shy as she is, the new experience must be a little frightening to her.

"When do we get a chance to search for Fog and Iggy?" Spyro asked.

"D...Dad? Is that you?" a voice came from the stairs, it was a three year old boy, though he was smaller than average. He had red spiky hair, the same spiky as Spyro's hair. And he had amber eyes. But the voice gave him away.

"Iggy?!" Spyro exclaimed.

"Well, there goes half of our search," Alec commented, "Seeing that you're dressed, I'm guessing my mom was taking care of you?"

"It's a good thing he's so well behaved," Pat said as she followed Iggy down, "I would've gone after that little girl. But she was too fast. Do you know what happened?"

"Well, that little girl is Fog, one of my students, and being taken care of by Spyro and Cynder," Alec explained, "She ran away, and where here to look for her and Iggy...Oh look! We found Iggy!"

"Daddy, do you remember what I told you about being able to know things," Iggy asked Spyro, who nodded, "Well, I can't do that anymore. Why?"

"It's your human brain," Alec said, "It can't use whatever abilities the dragon brain can use. Like me. I'm gonna have to work harder to find Fog, because I can't use the life element with a human brain."

"Well if it helps, Fog looks just like a younger version of Cynder," Pat said.

Although that is helpful, it's also kinda creepy. It appears that because of their identical life force, the portal gave both Fog and Cynder the same form. Just at different ages.

"Hey, Iggy, can I ask you something?" Alec asked, "How did you get to my portal like you did?"

I had a feeling I already knew. I just needed confirmation.

"I...I'm not sure. It just happened," Iggy said nervously, "I was in my room one moment. Then I suddenly tripped. Then everything seemed to fade away. Then everything came back, but I was at the portal just as Fog went through it. Then I ended up here."

"That sounds like how it feels to travel through the shadows with my shadow element," Cynder said.

"Well, it looks like we found Iggy's element," Alec said.

"Okay, we found Iggy," Cynder said, "Now when do we go to look for Fog?"

"I guess waiting for Mal and the others is getting us nowhere," Alec said, "Mom, I'm expecting three others to come through the portal soon. Their names are Mal, Quarry, and Shard. Can you wait for them for me and contact me when they arrive? I'll tell you where to find us then."

"And can you keep and eye on our kids too?" Spyro asked, "I don't want to take the risk of losing track of them too."

"Why can't we come?" Vortex whined.

"Because this is a world that not even I'm familiar with," Spyro said, "The only one here who has experience here is Alec."

"Well, there was that time when Cynder came," Alec pointed out, "So she has some familiarity to the area. But you have a point."

Alec then did some fiddling on his wrist monitor.

I figured a good way to please the kids was to introduce them to pizza. So I went online and ordered a pizza for them from Pizza Hut.

"Expect a pizza delivery in about forty-five minutes," Alec said.

"I'm make sure to let you know when the others get here," Pat said. Then Alec, Spyro, and Cynder headed out to search for Fog. At least now they knew what she'd look like. And considering how quickly she left, chances are she'd be in her birthday suit...that would be awkward.

* * *

**Alec tracked both Fog and Iggy to the portal. And adjusting to having new human bodies was relatively easy. At least Iggy stayed where he was, making it easier to find him.**

**And it seems Terrador had a deep discussion with Quarry about his guardian candidacy. And Quarry has agreed to not give up. However, if he chooses to give up, his chances of becoming a guardian candidate go with him.**

**Please R&amp;R.**

**(This FanFic was brought to you by Pizza Hut.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 8~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec, Spyro, and Cynder headed out of the house to look for Fog, "I doubt this will be needed. But Spyro and Cynder aren't really human names," Alec said, "We need to find you aliases."

Giving Cynder a name wouldn't be an issue. That could easily be turned into Cindy. However, Spyro wouldn't be as easy. I could give him the alias of Spike, but that's more of a nickname than an actual name. But I think I got one.

"Okay, Cynder, your human alias will be Cindy," Alec said, "And Spyro...uh...Ah! Spyro, your alias will be Spencer."

"I don't know enough about human names. But I'll trust your judgment," Spyro said.

"I like Cindy!" Cynder said, "It sounds like a nickname for Cynder! Spyro, why haven't you ever called me Cyndy before?"

"Don't blame me! I grew up in a colony of dragonflies," Spyro said, "I never knew much about nicknames...unless you count Sparx' nickname for me."

"Cynder what nickname was that?" Cynder asked.

"...Fatty..."

"Okay, let's get back on topic," Alec said, "It's getting late. So where ever she is, she probably won't be going anywhere soon. So that might help. But that also means that it will be harder for us to see her as well."

"Well, if she's just like me, then if she's upset, she might've gone to the lake," Cynder said, "Remember last time when I got upset, I went to the lake?"

"That would make sense," Alec said, "However, unlike you, she doesn't know the area, and wouldn't even know how to get to the lake. And even if she did, she's got a small body. And humans don't have the same kind of energy that dragons do."

"What about the woods near your house," Spyro asked.

"It's getting dark, and I doubt a little kid would want to go in the woods at night," Alec pointed out, "Then again, if she came here right when she left the house earlier, it would've still been light."

"But how would we find her in the dark woods at night?" Cynder asked.

"That depends," Alec said, "There is a clear path that would be easily followed even at night. So if she's somewhere along the path, we could find her. However, if she went off the path, it will be that much harder. Also, humans are more prone to the cold than dragons. And it's getting to the time of year when it gets colder. So at night, and without cloths, she'll probably get pretty cold. And she'll probably get cuts on her feet, since human bodies are...I think you get the idea. And if she went off the path, she'll just get more cuts. This is assuming she's in the woods."

"Well, other than Silver Lake, the only other body of water nearby is that stream in the woods," Cynder pointed out, "Maybe she's near there."

"That's good thinking, Cynder," Alec said, "But depending on how far down she may have gone, assuming that's what she did, it may cause some problems. I say that the first place we check is the old mill down there."

Long ago, before I was even born, part of an old mill collapsed into where the stream is now. It's a place I always used to play in with other kids in town...even though we weren't supposed to because it was dangerous. Why is it more fun for kids to play in dangerous places? Anyway, there are two sections still intact...more or less.

By the way, did I remind my mom to have cloths ready for the others when they come through the portal?

Alec, Spyro, and Cynder headed down to the old mill to see if they could find Fog in there.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Mal, Quarry, and Shard were waiting at the portal...or rather, Quarry and Shard were waiting for Mal to lead them through.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Quarry asked.

"Well...to be honest...I've always been a little afraid of actually going through that thing," Mal admitted, "It's just...from what Silver has said about the Human Realm, it's much different than the Dragon Realm."

"Well, take into account that instructor Silver came from the Human Realm," Shard pointed out, "So imagine what he thought when he first came here."

"Technically, he already had some knowledge of the Dragon Realm even before he first came here six years ago," Mal said, "Then again, it's thanks to him coming here that I'm even here. But back then, he wasn't given a dragon form like he has now."

"But when he did come through, it's not like he was afraid," Quarry said, "He just came through and was gladly willing to explore. The only thing I should be concerned about is the fact that he said human bodies are softer than dragon bodies." With that said, Quarry activated the portal and went through before the others.

"Quarry!" Shard shouted after him in irritation, "He always acts before he thinks." Shard then followed Quarry into the portal.

Mal hesitated, but realized that he had no other choice. Mal went through the portal.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Anything over there?" Alec called.

"No. I guess she's not here," Spyro said, "Cynder, if it were you, and you didn't know anything about this world, where would you go?"

"I'd probably go someplace peaceful to be alone," Cynder said, "And this certainly a place I could go to be alone."

"But it's not that peaceful. Especially at night," Alec said, "I've talked about Silver Lake. But Fog wouldn't know how to get there."

"Well, couldn't she have just asked someone how to get to Silver Lake?" Spyro asked.

"First off, I don't think Fog is social enough to 'just ask' anyone anything," Alec pointed out, "And secondly, I think people would take notice of the fact that she's naked. That's not common."

Personally, I have nothing against nudists. I mean, the purpose for cloths originated as a way to keep warm. So I see no reason why you should be ashamed of what god gave you. But one thing I know is that Perry is too small to have any nudist colonies. And even if there were nudists living in Perry, I choose to believe that they are respectful to others and wear cloths in public. After all, the only knowledge I have of nudists come from sitcoms. And I don't trust the media with things like that.

"I can't help but feel like Fog would find a way to get to Silver Lake. I feel like she could because I feel like I could," Cynder said, "Although, I don't know if I could do it as a naked human."

Suddenly, Alec's wristwatch monitor activated. Alec checked it to get Pat's response, "Alec, I just wanted to let you know that the others came through the portal," Pat said, "And it's a good thing I thought to bring them cloths myself, because you forgot to remind me."

I knew I was forgetting something.

"Okay. We'll meet you back at the lab," Alec said. The three dragons then headed back.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"So, are we clear on who does what?" Alec said, finishing his plans.

When I first saw the others, It didn't take long for me to figure out who was who. Quarry had the body type of your basic high school jock. A generally strong frame with shaggy black hair. His eyes were brown. With the exception of the color of his hair...and maybe his eyes, he is what you would expect. Mal...he basically looked like a cleaner version of Spyro's human form, even with the same hazel eyes. His hair was the same medium length dark brown hair with light brown highlights. However, instead of Spyro's spiky hair, it was sleek and straight back. But other than the hair style, he looked like he could've been Spyro's twin.

Shard was something else though. He actually had a more goth appearance. His black hair was short and sleek with bangs covering his left eye. There was an icy blue highlight in his bangs. He looked thinner than he should, but still looked strong enough to hold his own in a fight. His eyes were...I guess the best way to put it is that his eyes were an icy jade green. This was certainly not what I would've expected as Shard's human form. But somehow it works for him.

"You will take Mal into the woods to look for Fog in there," Shard said, "Cynder and Pat will take me and Quarry to the lake to look for her there. And Spyro will stay here to watch the kids."

"Alright, let's go," Alec instructed.

Quarry and Shard are now aware that my human name is Alec. However, I won't be surprised if they still call me Silver. After all, they went three years thinking my name was Silver.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec took Mal into the woods.

Honestly, I've never liked the idea of going in the woods at night. But things could be worse...and if this were a sitcom, I would end up regretting saying that. Anyways, I chose to go with Mal because of our teamwork. Sure, we can't use our elements as humans. But I figured that we still have that experience of working together.

And honestly, I think me and Mal make a good team.

The teams Alec had made were for a reason. Alec and Mal had good teamwork for one. Spyro would've been on Alec's team too if it weren't for someone having to stay and babysit. Also, Alec had experience and knew where he was going. And also, Alec was a good tactician...at least that's what he liked to believe. Mal also has tactical experience.

Pat's team had the equivalents...kinda. Both Pat and Cynder have experience in the Human Realm and knew where they were going. Shard was the tactician in their group. And Quarry...he's basically the muscle.

Normally I would say that I should've left Quarry to stay and babysit, since technically he's the odd man out. But I wanted to put him with Shard specifically to hopefully act as a learning experience for the both of them.

Maybe I'm not as good of a tactician as I thought.

"You know, there's a part of me that's hoping that Fog is in these woods somewhere. That way, us coming in here won't be in vein," Alec said, "Then again, I hope she's not here, because that would mean she might be hurt."

"Thank you, mister contradiction," Mal said, "Personally, she might feel more at home in the woods, because it feels more natural in general."

"You mean like the Dragon Realm?" Alec asked.

"Exactly," Mal confirmed, "Though this doesn't feel like the city of Warfang, it does feel similar to the Avalarian forest. And she is an orphan who grew up in the forest all alone."

"It's what she knows," Alec said, "However, this is still the Human Realm, and she's in a body that she's not familiar with. And being unprotected, she's vulnerable."

At that moment, Alec's wristwatch monitor activated again. But this time, it wasn't Pat or Cynder. It was Spyro, "Alec, Mal, Iggy is missing!" Spyro said.

Again?

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Pat and Cynder's team were by Silver Lake. They planned to originally split up into two teams. But an issue came up that stopped that plan. They had a stowaway. Shard had agreed to stay and watch said stowaway as the others searched for Fog.

As if on cue, Pat's wristwatch monitor activated, again with Spyro, "Pat, Cynder, Iggy's gone missing!" Spyro said.

"We know," Cynder said, "He stowed away in the car and is here with us. Shard is watching him at the moment."

"Oh...well...okay," Spyro said, "As long as he's safe."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Spyro contacted Alec and Mal again, "Sorry, false alarm," Spyro said, "Iggy is with Cynder and the others. Shard is watching over him."

"Well...at least he's safe, and in good hands..." Alec said.

"For being so well behaved, Iggy seems to get in trouble allot lately," Mal said, "First disappearing with his shadow element, and now as a stowaway."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"So, kid, why did you decide to come with us?" Shard asked as he looked down at Iggy.

"It's just that...I wanted to help find Fog," Iggy said, "I think mom is right in searching the lake. I know how she likes the serenity of water. And Fog is just like mom, even though it doesn't seem like it."

"You're pretty smart for a kid," Shard said, "What was your name again?"

"Iggy."

"Oh, right," Shard said, "I guess you can't really help if you're stuck here with me."

"Well, you're supposed to watch me, right?" Iggy said, "But they didn't stay we had to stay in one spot."

"Actually, your mom specifically said to stay here," Shard said, "Although, I guess she didn't stay to stay in...what's this thing called again?"

"A car."

"Right, a car," Shard said, "She didn't say we had to stay in the car. And 'here' is a relative term."

"Are you trying to make me break my mom's rules?" Iggy asked uncertainly.

"No. I'm trying to offer a chance to help," Shard suggested, "You'll be limited as to where you can search. But at least you'll be able to help a little."

"Well, if I'm not breaking any rules..." Iggy said.

"I don't think you should be talking about breaking rules when you followed us when you weren't supposed to," Shard said with a sly grin, "And it's not breaking the rules, just bending them a little."

With that said, Shard opened up the door, leading the way out to go search for the missing dragoness. Once they left the car and shut the door, they headed down towards the lake to begin their own part of the search.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Meanwhile, a little girl was lying behind a building. She was cold, seeing as she didn't have any cloths, and tired, seeing as she had walked a long way to get here. But it also seemed that she wasn't feeling good. She held her stomach in pain, feeling like she was going to throw up.

* * *

**And the search for Fog begins. Is she in the woods? Is she near the stream...which is technically still in the woods? Is she in the old mill...which is by the stream...which is in the woods? Or is she at the lake? Or could she be someplace else? (Not much variety there.)**

**And it seems that Iggy has gone missing...again. Well...at least this time he didn't just disappear. He's with Cynder. But it seems Iggy is becoming a bit of a troublemaker...unintentionally of course.**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 9~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Shard and Iggy started their own search. Shard chose to bend the rules to allow that. But it also meant that they were limited as to where they could search. However, Iggy seemed to have high hopes nonetheless.

Iggy noticed the bathroom first...though he didn't know what it was. But then he went to check under the pier.

_BLEGH_

Iggy and Shard heard what sounded like a gagging sound, followed immediately by the sound of splattering on the ground. Iggy and Shard went to where the sound came from. They looked behind the bathroom and found a girl that followed the description of Fog. She was laying there curled up next to a puddle of vomit.

"Fog!" the two of them said at once. Fog slowly opened up her eyes. It was obvious that she was tired and uncomfortable.

Shard went back to the car to get a set of cloths for Fog while Iggy stayed with her, "Why'd you run away?" Iggy asked.

"It's Cynder," Fog said in a weak voice, "I just had to get away from her."

"But mom only wants to help you. You know that, right?" Iggy said, "She understands you the best because like her and dad, you're an orphan."

Shard then came with some cloths for Fog and helped her put them on, "I...I'm not an orphan," Fog said as Shard was putting on her pants, "I don't have parents."

"But...that kinda defines what an orphan is. Someone who lost their parents," Shard said as he put on the shirt, "What happened to your parents anyway?"

"I...never had any parents to begin with," Fog said, her voice growing weaker.

"So, you're egg was abandoned?" Shard tried to ask.

"No...I..." Fog said before she vomited again. Before she could continue, she passed out from exhaustion.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

It was the next morning, and Alec was in his lab checking on a few things coming up with theories of how to come up with a device to modify his form when going to the Dragon Realm, and for when anyone from the Dragon Realm to come here.

As he was checking his calculations, a groaning came from the bed at the side of the room, "Alec, I think Fog is waking up," Shard said.

"I hope she's rested enough, considering how she's been tossing and turning with a fever," Alec said.

Spyro had contacted me saying that mom and Cynder contacted him saying that Shard contacted them saying they found Fog...That seemed unnecessarily excessive. Anyway, we all headed back to the house where we put Fog to bed. She had a long day...and so did we. Go figure, if it wasn't for Iggy stowing away with my mom and the others, we might not have found Fog. Mom noticed that Fog felt a little warm. She took her temperature, showing that she had a slight fever of 99.7.

"Shard, you go see if the others are awake," Alec said, "If they're still sleeping, don't worry about waking them up."

"Right," Shard said. He then headed up the stairs to see if the others were awake yet.

Honestly, I didn't know if I should expect the others to be up yet. I can see my mom getting up at this time, since she has to get up early to go to work. But I don't know how being in these new human bodies would affect them. I gotta give Shard credit though. He stayed up all night to help keep an eye on Fog, even suggesting I get some rest. The only reason I did was because I trust Shard to keep his word.

As Fog began to open her eyes, Alec looked down to her, "Are you feeling okay?" Alec asked in a soothing voice.

It took a moment to recognize the voice, "Instructor Silver?" Fog asked.

"Well, here in the Human Realm, my name is Alec," Alec explained, "As for you, it seems that it's a good thing that Iggy stowed away. He is the one who found you after all. And considering you had a fever, you could've ended up worse off. Now let me take your temperature."

As Alec was about to put the thermometer in Fog's mouth, she backed away, not knowing what it was.

"Don't worry. This will only take your temperature," Alec explained, "Just stick this under your tongue until you hear it beep. I promise it won't do anything to you."

"How can I trust you?" Fog asked.

"Would you really expect an instructor to cause you harm?" Shard said as he came down with Pat, Mal, Iggy, and Cynder.

"If you haven't noticed, you're in the Human Realm. And as you can see, it's allot different than the Dragon Realm," Alec explained, "You are in unfamiliar territory. So I don't think this is time for you to start your little defiant act."

Fog hesitated for a moment. But she then accepted and let Alec take her temperature. When Alec saw it, he was disappointed, "It seems your temperature went from being 99.7 to 101.4," Alec explained, "I'd prefer not to send you back through the portal until I know you're back in good health. I don't know what might happen if you go through sick or injured."

"Give the Dragon Realm a cold," Fog said sarcastically, "What's the harm in bringing something that Dragon Realm already has and bring them through?"

First of all, I don't know if a Human Realm cold virus would convert to a Dragon Realm cold virus. Though the chances are likely," Alec said, "And a cold doesn't cause a fever. And I don't know what kind of affect it would have if I sent you through sick. Three years ago when I went through, I ended up injuring myself as a dragon. It was my first time as a dragon and I was flying...and I didn't know how to stop...and flew strain into a wall. I was injured. I would've gone through the portal. But I didn't know what kind of affects my injures would have coming through. And my concerns also go for illnesses."

"You...You're actually concerned for my safety?" Fog asked.

"Of course he is," Pat said, "And so is Spyro and Cynder. Why would they have come through the portal to come and find you if they weren't concerned about you?"

I watched as Cynder went over to Fog. I figured that they weren't repelling each other like they did in the Dragon Realm because the Human Realm generally works differently. I watched as Cynder even gave Fog a hug. It kinda brings a tear to your eye. (sniff)

"I...I guess I've just never had anyone actually care about me before," Fog said, "My whole life, I had nobody to care about me. I just had people instructing me to be someone you wouldn't care for. It's what I was originally made for after all."

Something didn't sound right about that.

"Last night, before you passed out, you were telling me and Shard why you didn't have a mom and dad," Iggy said.

"I don't have parents because I wasn't hatched from an egg like a normal dragon. I was grown in a test tube," Fog said, "I am an experiment. Or to be more exact, I was supposed to be Cynder's replacement as the Terror of the Skies...

**X ~ Flashback ~ X**

The grublins who were Malefor's henchmen went to free Spyro and Cynder. Once they were freed, one of the grublins took one of Cynder's scales, "We have the DNA sample our master wanted. When the dragons wake up, you can dispose of them how you wish."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Later in a secret lab, a scientist took Cynder's scale and began to resequence the DNA code so that Malefor could create a perfect version of Cynder...a new Terror of the Skies. Once he was finished, the test subject had it's growth accelerated to five times normal. The subject was going to continue to grow for five years, growing the equivalent of twenty-five years old. However, Malefor was defeated and the test subject was canceled. However, she continued to grow in the test tube.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Eight months later, a glitch caused the test tube to release it's subject at only three and a half years old in growth.

**X ~ End Flashback ~ X**

"I don't have any parents because I'm a clone," Fog said, "And for six years now, I've been living...not knowing what to do with my life I knew I was supposed to replace Cynder. So I thought I was evil. But I was also three and a half years old. And my maturity level was at that stage as well. And without Malefor to guide me, I didn't know what to do."

"Actually, it sounds like that glitch in the system happened around the time I first went to the Dragon Realm six years ago," Alec said, "Wait, something doesn't add up. Currently, you are biologically eleven years old. Six of those years were from when you first woke up to now. When you woke up, you were biologically three and a half. That adds up to nine and a half years. There is a year and a half missing."

"Well, when I first woke up, I still had part of the accelerated growth," Fog said, "For the first year and a half, my growth was still doubled."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what is known as plot convenience.

"Basically, I've been living my entire life confused," Fog said.

"Fog, let me ask you a question," Cynder said, "Do you want to be evil?"

"I...I don't understand," Fog said.

"Well, it's clear that you aren't under anyone's influence. You can make your own choices," Alec said, "And being evil is a choice. So if you don't want to be evil, then you don't have to be evil."

"But what about Cynder? And Mal?" Fog asked, "And what about when Spyro became consumed by darkness and became Dark Spyro?"

"First of all, Cynder didn't have a choice because she was under the Dark Master's influence since she was born," Alec explained, "And Mal was never the Dark Master. The Dark master was simply an evil entity that used Malefor's form. The real Malefor had been trapped inside crystal since when the guardians were children. And as for Dark Spyro, he was never evil. In the Well of Souls, he became consumed by his rage when he saw Cynder get hurt. Also, the negative energy in the Well of Souls probably wasn't helping either."

"In fact, the Dark Master tried to corrupt Alec once," Mal said, "Perhaps it was his otherworldly biology at the time. But he couldn't fully corrupt Alec because he has such a strong will...that and I had some help in keeping his mind in check."

"Yeah, I did end up causing some damage to Cynder though," Alec said sheepishly, "I guess the attempted corruption coupled with the adrenaline rush caused me to lose myself for a moment. But my plan was intentionally to make it look like that anyway...I just forgot for a moment. My point is, nobody is inherently evil by nature. Because if you can make your own choices, you can choose not to be evil, even if you were created to be be."

"I don't think I know how to be good," Fog said, "But if I can choose, I don't want to be evil."

"You don't have to know how to be good to be good," Cynder said, "If anyone can explain how it is not knowing how to be good, it's me. After all, I was the Terror of the Skies. Being evil was all I knew how to be. But it was thanks to Spyro's help that I was able to learn how to be good."

"And Spyro and Cynder are both willing to help you learn how to be good," Shard said, "And so are the guardians, and Iggy, and Aurora and Vortex, and Alec and his mom, and me."

"That's just like you, Shard. Always trying to make yourself look like the hero, making yourself look better than me," the others turned to see Quarry by the door as he walked over, "Well, I'm not letting you hog the glory this time."

"Quarry!" Shard growled, "Why do you always ha-"

"I don't like your attitude, kid," Quarry interrupted, "But I can't fault you for at least wanting to be better. Even if I never do become a guardian and Shard does, I will still work with Shard to help you learn to be a better dragon...whether Shard wants my help or not."

Everyone was shocked at Quarry's display and announcing his willingness to work with Shard.

I can't say I'm not surprised. But I could always tell that as much as they appear to hate each other, Quarry and Shard were friends at some level. If they hated each other, they would avoid each other at all costs. But as much as they end up turning into fights, even they refer to them as "sparring matches". Then again, maybe I'm just practicing my psychology knowledge that I don't have.

"I guess I never got around to telling anyone my decision yet," Shard said, "I haven't even had a chance to tell Cyril. But I've decided to forfeit my guardian candidacy."

Now I'm definitely surprised.

"Quarry was right. Why should I get something without even trying while he works as hard as he does and doesn't get it?" Shard said, "Even if I did work towards being a guardian, I'd be working towards something I never wanted in the first place. But I am willing to help him become a guardian candidate."

"Okay, this is getting off topic at the moment," Alec pointed out, "Back to Fog, I just realized why Cynder and Fog have identical life force. Because they are biologically identical. In fact, you two are two sides of the same coin. Cynder, your issues with Fog are that you see what could've been if you never met Spyro, and you hate what you could've continued to be if that were the case. Fog, your issues with Cynder are that you see what could've been if you had someone there for you, and you're jealous that you never had that life. The fact is, many people ask themselves 'what if something in their lives happened differently?'. But you two are actually seeing that 'what if' scenario face to face."

"I never thought of it like that," Cynder said.

Suddenly, Fog began to cough before vomiting. But this time, she threw up blood. Alec put the thermometer in Fog's mouth again. Within a half an hour, Fog's temperature had jumped from 101.4 to 102.9. After throwing up more blood, Fog then passed out.

* * *

**YAY! Fog was found! And she was found by Iggy...I wonder how things would've turned out if Iggy hadn't gone with them and had to stay in that area. (FYI it most likely wouldn't have gone too well for Fog.)**

**And Fog is actually Cynder's clone?! ...Actually is anyone surprised about something like this happening at this point? Oh, and in chapter 6, Alec points out that the only thing separating Fog and Cynder from being mother and daughter was flesh and blood...when in fact, it's flesh and blood that makes them even closer than mother and daughter. And since Fog is biologically the same as Cynder, does that make Fog Iggy's mother as well? (Iggy: I have to moms?!)...Oh, and some stuff involving Shard and Quarry.**

**And it seems Fog is sick! (FYI that's why she wouldn't have done well if Iggy hadn't found her.**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 10~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Cyril was in his quarters waiting for Shard. Shard had told him that he'd tell him today what he choice would be.

**X ~ Flashback ~ X**

"So, what you're trying to say is that even though I haven't been specifically trying to get your attention to be a candidate, you still took notice of the work I've made?" Shard asked.

"That is correct, young Shard," Cyril said, "Before offering you the candidacy, I've spent two years observing your talents. You weren't just handed the opportunity. You have earned it."

"I guess that makes me feel better. And I'll think about it and let you know tomorrow if I'd like to continue or not," Shard said before heading towards the door.

**X ~ End Flashback ~ X**

Cyril was in fact feeling uncharacteristically anxious. It wasn't because of the wait, it was that he most likely knew what Shard's answer would be. Cyril was looking forward to having Shard as the new guardian. But now that he knew that Shard never wanted to be a guardian in the first place, he could guess what that meant.

That was when Terrador came into the room. Terrador saw that Cyril seemed anxious, "Is something bothering you, Cyril?" Terrador asked.

"I'm just waiting for Shard," Cyril said, "We had a talk, and he told me that he never wanted to be a guardian in the first place. He said he'd sleep on it and tell me today."

"You mean he's not back from the Human Realm yet?" Terrador said.

"The Human Realm?!" Cyril exclaimed, "What is he doing in the Human Realm?!"

"Fog ran away and was tracked to Alec's portal," Terrador explained, giving the short version, "She he requested that Quarry and Shard come to help him find her in the Human Realm."

"Is Alec CRAZY?!" Cyril exclaimed again, "Doesn't he realize how much those two don't get along?! And you're just as crazy for letting them-"

"I also had a talk with Quarry," Terrador interrupted Cyril's musings, "I tried not to give to much away. But I told him that there's more to being a guardian than just brute strength. You could say that this is a field test for him."

"Are you sure you made the right choice?" Cyril asked.

"To be honest, no. But then again, I can't be sure that not letting him go would be the right choice either," Terrador said, "For now, we just have to trust that Alec knows what he's doing. But what's this about Shard not wanting to be a guardian?"

"It seems that he never wanted the attention that being a guardian would bring to him," Cyril said, "It seems the only reason he accepted the offer was because he believed nobody in there right mind turns down an offer like that."

"And yet he's spent all this time humoring you," Terrador said, "It's a shame that he doesn't want to be a guardian. He would've made a fine ice guardian."

"Well, he said he'd think about it," Cyril said, "So here's to hoping."

"If you're concerned as to why they haven't come back yet, why don't you go through the portal to check on them?" Volteer said as he came up from behind them.

The two guardians turned around in surprise, "You've been here this entire time?" Terrador asked.

"And you haven't said anything until now?" Cyril added.

"I didn't intend to disturb the two of you. Nor did I intend on eavesdropping," Volteer said, "However, if the two of you do not wish to encounter the Human Realm yourselves, I would be willing to volunteer to go and check on them for you."

"It would be nice to know what is happening there," Cyril said, "And since you are volunteering, we will accept your offer."

"Although I'm not pleased that Cyril made the decision for me, I do accept your offer as well," Terrador said.

"Then I'll be off," Volteer said before leaving the two remaining guardians.

"It figures that little brat would be causing trouble again," Cyril said, referring to Fog, "I just never thought she would go as far as to go to the Human Realm to cause trouble."

"Well, in the Human Realm, Alec does have the advantage," Terrador said, "He understands his world better than any of us. And since Fog is unfamiliar with that world, Alec will be able to simply outsmart her."

"Either that, or her lack of knowledge will just cause that much more trouble," Cyril said.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"How's Fog holding up?" Spyro asked.

"Her temperature is holding at 103.3," Alec answered.

It had been three hours since Fog took that turn for the worse. But her temperature has been holding at 103.3 for two hours now. And the only reason that's good news is because it means it's not going up. But the scan that I took indicated that she didn't have any virus to cause a fever like this. Everything leads to the fact that Fog should be healthy.

Suddenly, the portal activated and an old man came through. He had brought a cloth to wrap around himself, implying that he knew of the Human Realm's decency rules before hand. This could only mean that he was one of the guardians.

This old man's age implied he was a guardian. He didn't have a muscular build, so I could cross off Terrador. So that narrowed it down to either Volteer or Cyril. I suppose it's possible it could be Ignitus as well. But I doubt he would just randomly show up. Let's see...his hair was dirty blonde...or what's left of it anyway. He had a beard, which is a detail I wouldn't have expected. And he had amber eyes. If nothing else, his eye color gave away his identity.

"Can I assume that's you, Volteer?" Alec asked.

"I must admit that I am impressed that you were able to identify me considering how different this human body is compared to my dragon body," Volteer said.

If I didn't know before, the way he talked...and talked, and talked was a dead giveaway to Volteer's identity.

"It was an estimated guess," Alec said, "To be honest, I could tell that you weren't Terrador. And by your eye color, I made a guess. I see you thought to bring a cloth to wrap yourself in."

"We have known one another for six years now," Volteer said, "I think I'd know a little about how humans do things now."

"Fair enough," Alec said, "So what have you come here for?"

"Terrador and Cyril are becoming concerned because Shard and Quarry haven't come back yet," Volteer said, "I told them that I would come here to check on things."

"Well, Shard and Quarry are doing okay," Alec said as he motioned towards the two said humans working together, "We were all impressed when Quarry chose to put aside his personal feelings and work along side Shard to help with Fog. However, the situation with Fog isn't good. She has a high fever. And I don't want to send her through the portal with a fever, because I don't know what will happen."

"Hello, Volteer," Pat said as she came up to Alec and Volteer, "Last time we saw each other, I was a cheetah. I'm Alec's mother, Pat."

"Ah, yes. I remember you," Volteer said, "I must say, it sure is a different experience here in the Human Realm."

"I apologize for ending this conversation abruptly," Pat said, "But I am helping to keep an eye on Fog. I guess Alec once again thought that my experience as a mother would help."

"That is alright," Volteer said, "You may tend to Fog now."

"Since you're here to bring information to the other guardians, I feel that I should tell you to inform Terrador that Quarry had acted admirably by agreeing to work along side Shard," Alec said to Volteer, "And I was surprised at what Shard said about choosing not to be a guardian."

"Cyril said he was waiting for Shard so that he could tell him what he decided," Volteer said, "It seems Cyril will get his answer. It's a shame though. Shard would've made an admirable ice guardian."

"Well, don't count him out just yet," Alec said, "Shard did say that he would help Quarry be better qualified to be a guardian."

"Considering the rivalry between them, I'm surprised how they are willing to work together like this," Volteer said, "When Terrador and Cyril find out, they probably wouldn't believe what I say and think I've gone senile. They'd have to see it for themselves."

"They've always been friends. They just didn't know it," Alec pointed out, "However, I did find out something interesting about Fog's past. It seems that Fog is in fact _not_ an orphan. At least not in the conventional sense. She is in fact a clone of Cynder, intended to be her replacement as the Terror of the Skies. But certain things went wrong and she ended up like this, a confused dragoness who didn't know what to do with her life."

"That truly is fascinating," Volteer said, "This certainly would explain why she kept insisting that she doesn't have any parents."

"Well, biologically speaking, her parents would be the same as Cynder's parents," Alec said.

Once I said that, I came up with a theory about why Fog might be so sick when there is nothing causing it.

"Excuse me, Volteer!" Alec exclaimed, "I think I may have an answer as to why Fog has an unprovoked fever! But I have to run a test to make sure!"

Alec then went over to his computer and checked the most recent scan of Fog. It was a scan taken just five minutes ago.

"Cynder, can you come here for a minute?" Alec asked.

"What is it?" Cynder asked as she came over to Alec.

"Is it alright if I take a scan of you?" Alec asked.

"I guess," Cynder said reluctantly, "But what for?"

"I want to compare your bio-signs with Fog's," Alec said as he started a scan on Cynder, "The only thing keeping you and Fog from being the same person is not having the same body. I think I have a theory that may help us figure out why Fog is sick."

Alec then finished the scan and overlapped the information with her bio-signs with Fog's. And other than the fever, they matched up identically.

"What are you looking for?" Cynder asked.

"I think the concept of cloning works differently in the Dragon Realm than it does in the Human Realm," Alec said, "Cloning in the Human Realm creates a genetic carbon copy. However, they have their own life force and bio-signs. However, in the Dragon Realm, cloning is a full copy, life force and bio-signs and all. Because of this, when you two came through the portal at different times, it recognized the two of you as being the same person. Recognizing this, I think the portal's energy is trying to rid this world of the second identical life force."

"There's just one problem with that Theory," Cynder said, "I'm the one who came through the portal second. I'm the one that the portal should've recognized as the copy. And therefor, I'm the one who should be the one the portal is trying to get rid of."

Damnit! I was so close to trying to figure out what was wrong! But Cynder is right. Fog is the one who came through first, and Cynder is the one the portal should recognize as the copy. Now I'm back to square one.

"That was the only theory I had," Alec said, "Now that that theory is no longer valid, I don't know what to think about Fog's condition. And I'm worried about her."

Pat then came over with a look of worry, "Fog's temperature rose to 103.8," Pat said, "And that's not all." Pat then lead them over to see Fog, who's skin was beginning to tear apart. Wounds were beginning to open up all over her body. Fog was lucky that she was unconscious.

"I do believe that this is not a good thing," Volteer said, "This world is allot different than the Dragon Realm. But I believe that this is not something normal for any realm."

"Other than some possible rare skin conditions, this is not a normal thing to happen," Alec said, "And this just makes the situation that much more critical."

"I think you may be overreacting a little," Pat said, "A skin condition doesn't necessarily mean it's bad."

"But the problem is that this is happening, and I don't know what's causing it," Alec said, "And if I don't know what's causing it, I don't know how to take care of it."

To be honest, even if my portal was trying to rid the Human Realm from a copy, I wouldn't think it would be causing so much pain to the supposed copy. Then again, I guess the copy can't just vanish. That would defy logic in this world. And even though something like that might work in the Dragon Realm, here in the Human Realm, whatever the portal does still has to follow the laws of physics here. Then again, that would also explain why there's nothing actually causing it. I still don't think that would explain the fever. But considering that theory was disproved, it doesn't matter if it explains anything or not.

"Maybe it's somehow connected to the fact that Fog is younger than me," Cynder theorized, "Or maybe because I've been to this world before. Or maybe her connection to the Dark Master's dark powers."

"I don't think it would be age, since the age difference would help the portal to recognize that there is an age difference," Alec explained, "And when you were in this world before, you may have been technically been here by this world's standards. But as far as your form in the Dragon Realms, it was no more than a dream. When you came here, you had no quantum structure. And therefor, no memory of you being here. As for her connections with dark powers, you have a bigger connection with his dark powers than Fog does."

"Well, you said she's a clone, right?" Volteer asked, "Could that have something to do with Fog's conditions?"

"That's...actually a possibility," Alec said, "I'll have to check the scans on a different level to find out." Alec then began checking Fog's scans to see if Volteer's theory was valid.

* * *

**Quarry and Shard working together?! ...I think a pig just flew past my window... And I almost figured out what was wrong with Fog...until Cynder explained how logic works.**

**And now Fog's body is being torn apart.**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 11~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"You said she's a clone, right?" Volteer asked, "Could that have something to do with Fog's conditions?"

"That's...actually a possibility," Alec said, "I'll have to check the scans on a different level to find out." Alec then began checking Fog's scans to see if Volteer's theory was valid.

As Alec checked the scans, the others noticed that Fog was beginning to whimper in her sleep. It seems that the pain was becoming so severe, it was seeping into her unconscious mind.

I may not have taken an oath that physicians take. But I do have the same desire to help. If Fog dies because I wasn't able to help in time, I don't know what I'd do.

Alec suddenly found more detailed information about the scans. Alec saw that at the atomic level, Cynder was the same as any other human. However, Fog's atomic structure was destabilizing.

"Fog's temperature just jumped to 105.3!" Pat exclaimed, "If we don't so something soon, her own temperature is going to start frying her brain cells!"

"Damn this human body!" Shard exclaimed, "If only I could use my ice element, I could cool down her body temperature!"

"Shard, you need to calm down and focus," Quarry said calmly, "You are the one who has tactical skills here. I'm sure you can find a way to improvise."

"You're right. Thanks," Shard said as he calmed down, "There's a direct blood flow from the back of the throat to the brain. When you yawn, you activate this blood flow while simultaneously inhaling cool air to cool the blood. This process is the body's natural way of cooling down the brain when it's overheated. Pat, you go get some ice. Quarry, you hold Fog's mouth open and hold her nose shut so that she will breath through her mouth. It's a long shot. But it just may help give us some time."

"I don't know what you just said, but I'll trust that you know what you're talking about," Quarry said. He then grabbed Fog's mouth and held it open while holding her nose shut so that she breaths through her mouth. However, as Quarry held onto Fog's face, he began to feel something odd. He lifted his hands and saw that there were what appeared to be burn marks where his hands were.

"This isn't good. She's become intolerable of physical contact," Alec said as he saw what happened, "Fog's atomic structure is breaking down. It seems that physical contact accelerates the process."

"How am I supposed to hold her mouth open then?" Quarry asked.

"I don't think there's anything we can do to stop this," Alec said, "When I said the portal was trying to remove the copy, I was correct. I was just mistaken as to what I meant by 'copy'. When I say copy, I really mean the copy of Cynder...the clone. The only thing we can do is hope that taking her back to the Dragon Realm will stop this and help her."

"But where you not saying how you didn't want anyone going through the portal if they were sick or injured?" Volteer asked.

"Exactly! But this is a last case scenario!" Alec exclaimed, "If she goes through the portal in the condition she's in now, I'm honestly afraid of what could possibly happen to her! But the fact of the matter is that at least in the Dragon Realm, there's a chance that this will all end! If she stays here, she's dead! The only thing we can do here is delay in inevitable! Basically, it's a choice between a possible death, or a definite death!"

"We're gonna need to carry her. But considering how she can't be touched, we have to get to the portal as fast as possible," Quarry said, "Shard, can you help me carry Fog to the portal when it's ready?"

Shard nodded. Alec then went to activate the portal. After a few moments, the portal was activated. Alec signaled to Quarry and Shard. They lifted up Fog and moved as quickly as they could to the portal.

"Volteer, please inform the others to meet us back in the Dragon Realm," Alec said. Volteer nodded before Alec followed the Quarry and Shard through the portal.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Are you sure about this, Ember?" Sienna said as she followed her little sister through the corridors of the temple, "I mean, do you really think you're ready for something like this?"

"They've been without one for over six and a half years," Ember replied, though her confidence wasn't at it's best, "I feel like someone should take on the roll. And besides, there's going to be a time when you have to stop sheltering me. I know you just want to protect me. But if you shelter me, how can I stand on my own two paws?"

"Perhaps they'll let us share the responsibilities," Sienna said, "I just hope you understand that this will not be easy. Even more so considering your memory issue."

"And that's why I believe I would be respected that much more," Ember said, "I want to prove that someone with a handicap like mine can rise to become something great."

"It doesn't matter what I say, does it?" Sienna asked, "No matter what I say, you won't change your decision, will you? And you're right. I should let you make your own decisions. Just...be careful. Just make sure that when you talk to the guardians, that you don't forget what you went there to talk with them form."

"That's why I also want you to come with me," Ember said, "To make sure I remember what I'm there to talk about."

It was good for Sienna to be able to joke about her memory like that. It was apparent that she was being serious. But she was able to talk about it in a joking way.

"I'm just curious. It's obvious that you've been thinking about this for a while now," Sienna pointed out, "But even though your memory has improved, it still isn't that great. So how were you able to remember about this?"

"Well...uh...I don't remember. But it was something involving memory," Ember said reluctantly, "I think Cyril taught it to me."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Alec came through the portal to see Shard, Quarry, and...Fog? There was a dragoness who Shard and Quarry were carrying. And she looked like Fog...but...

"Is...is that really Fog?" Alec asked in confusion.

The dragoness Quarry and Shard were carrying looked like Fog. And I could sense that it was Fog's life force. But there were two things I noticed about her. First of all, Fog was no longer in an eleven year old body. She was in a six year old body. I'm concerned that maybe being in the condition she was in caused a glitch when she went through the portal. And the second thing I noticed was her life force energy. It was Fog's...and only Fog's. She no longer had a copy of Cynder's life force. She had her own life force energy.

Fog was an individual.

"We don't know what happened!" Quarry exclaimed, "Is this what you were worried would happen if she went through the portal?"

"No...not exactly," Alec said, "But that's only because I didn't know what to expect. But now that I can use my silver dragon senses again, I can tell that her condition has stabilized. She still needs to recover. But she's stabilized. By definition, she is better...more or less."

"So...what happened?" Quarry asked.

"I may have a theory," Shard said, "I'm not sure if I understand how your portal works. But I believe that the portal was able to detect Fog's physical age did not match up with her temporal age. She's only been around for six years, but she was biologically eleven years old. The portal detected this as a glitch and tried to correct it. However, it couldn't actually do anything. So this glitch was harming her. When we came through the portal again, I assume the portal can do something like this. But while we were in the portal, it took that as a chance to correct the glitch, making Fog the appropriate age."

"My portal can't do something like that on it's own," Alec said, "It would've had to be taking information from both the Dragon Realm and the Human Realm and combined them. However, that theory in general does sound valid. And that would explain why she has a different life force energy now. When she went to the Human Realm, then Cynder went through, they had to have different life force energies, since no two people in the Human Realm can have the same life energy. Not even clones. So their life energies were divided into two individual life forces. And when she came back through, that alternate life force stuck."

These theories were valid, since my portal was created in the Human Realm, and therefor works by Human Realm logic...more or less. So it seems that it managed to impose some Human Realm logic into the Dragon Realm

And if these theories are true, then perhaps I can use that to design a device to allow modifications to my form when the Dragon Realm. Taking the concept of correcting a glitch, and hacking the system to access the portal's 'debug mode'.

"Come on," Alec said, "Let's get Fog to Spyro and Cynder's quarters."

Before they had a chance to leave, the others came through the portal. They all noticed that Fog was younger than she was before, "Ask questions later," Quarry said, "Now, instructor Alec said to bring her to Spyro and Cynder's quarters to recover."

The others agreed without argument as they headed towards Spyro and Cynder's quarters.

I noticed Iggy seemed a bit disoriented when he came back through. I'm guessing it's his senses suddenly returning. I can't blame him. He's young and not used to the transition. After spending some time in the Dragon Realm, I can end up becoming disoriented when I lose my silver dragon senses when returning to the Human Realm. I've had three years to grow used to that. But this is Iggy's first time. And he's young, making the experience that much more confusing to him.

"Fog is normal now," Iggy said to himself.

"What do you mean by that?" Alec asked, overhearing him.

"Oh...well...I don't know how to say it," Iggy said, "It's just that I sense that she is how she should be now."

"I think I understand what you mean," Alec said, "You can sense that because she had her growth accelerated to five years, she lost those years and woke up as a five year old. Now you sense that she's the age she's been alive for. She basically got back the years she never had."

"Yes...but there's more to it than that," Iggy said, "She's happy now...or she will be when she wakes up."

"I don't think that's because of her age change," Alec said, "I think it's because she's experiencing what your mother did. She found people who care about her. And that will help her to make better choices."

"Come on, Iggy," Alec said, "Let's get you back home."

"Wait, let me do it," Iggy said. Iggy then grabbed Alec's paw and lead him towards a shadow. Iggy then used his recently revealed shadow element and pulled Alec into a shadow.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

As they entered their quarters, Cynder was looking at Fog. There was the obvious confusion of why Fog was now younger than she was. But she also took notice that Fog seemed peaceful now that she was sleeping. And it wasn't just because she was no longer in pain.

"Has anyone seen Iggy?" Spyro asked as he looked around.

"Oh, you know. We're just hangin' out," Alec said as he came out from the other room with Iggy, "We just chose to take a shortcut."

"Shortcut?" Spyro asked.

"We went through the shadows," Iggy said.

"Just so you know, I had no part in choosing this mode of transportation," Alec pointed out, "Iggy just grabbed me and pulled me into a shadow."

"Well, I suppose now that we know what his element is, we should encourage him to practice it," Spyro said.

"I'm impressed that he managed to use his ability like he did," Cynder said after she put Fog to bed, "I didn't even learn to travel through shadows until I was older than him. And not only that, he was able to take someone with him. And even though I could do that, it was only while I was still the Terror of the Skies. When I was freed from the Dark Master's control, I had to relearn how to take someone through the shadows with me."

"If he's this far along already, imagine what he could be capable of later in his life," Alec pointed out.

Although I was saying that about Iggy as praise, I can't help but feel that it could also be the cause of something going wrong.

Iggy looked up at Alec, looking as if he knew Alec wasn't completely positive about his praise.

"I think I should go to see Cyril now," Shard said, "He's expecting me to give him an answer."

"I'll come with you," Volteer said, "I came to the Human Realm so I could inform the others what's going on. And I don't intend to break my word." With that said, the two dragons left while Alec explained to the others the theory of why Fog is now younger.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

As Shard approached the guardians' quarters with Volteer, they passed by Ember and Sienna, who were coming from the guardians' quarters. Shard then entered to see Cyril.

"I see you're back from the Human Realm," Cyril said, "I was informed about Fog, and that Silver asked for you and Quarry to help find her."

"Did you know that instructor Silver's human name is actually Alec?" Shard asked rhetorically.

"It seems he chose to reveal that to you," Cyril said, "Alec chose to take on the name of Silver because he believes it sounds more draconic. But I don't believe that's why you're here."

"You're right. I'm sorry," Shard said, apologizing for his digression, "I came here because I told you that I would give you an answer. However, after my recent experience in the Human Realm, I feel I need more time to think about it. My mind was on helping instructor Alec. So I haven't had much time to think about my decision."

Shard's excuse was partly a lie. It was true that he didn't have much time to focus on his decision. But he also wanted to take recent events into consideration. He enjoyed the act of helping Fog. And though he didn't like attention, he also didn't want to just do nothing.

"I suppose I can wait until tomorrow," Cyril said, "But I want an answer first thing in the morning, before classes start."

"Alright," Shard said, "And regardless of what my choice is, I want to also help Quarry train to be a guardian as well."

"I'm sure with your guidance, he will be on his way to becoming a guardians," Terrador said.

"That is if he's willing to accept Shard's help," Cyril said.

"Actually, he already has," Shard said, getting the attention of the others.

"You'd be surprised how well Shard and Quarry actually can work together," Volteer said, "You'd never believe it unless you saw it for yourselves."

"I'll see you first thing tomorrow," Shard said before heading out of the quarters.

"This certainly has turned into a strange day," Cyril said.

"What's so strange about Shard wanting to extend how long he has to think about his decision?" Volteer asked.

"For starters, Shard didn't give me an answer I would've expected," Cyril said, "I was expecting him to choose not to continue his training. However, I wouldn't have disregarded the possibility that he'd agree to continue. But at least they'd be answers. I wouldn't have predicted him to ask for more time to think."

"But this also shows that he may be reconsidering his choice," Terrador said, "So there's still hope."

"I suppose you're right," Cyril said, "But what also makes this strange day is what just happened before you got here. I just spoke with Ember. She asked if she could apply to become a guardian trainee."

* * *

**Before anyone asks, the concept of pain that can be felt even when unconscious is a real thing...I assume. I saw it on an episode of House MD once.**

**Fog just went from being eleven years old to being six years old. When people wish they could be young again, they usually aren't still in school when they wish it. But at least Fog's better now that she's in the Dragon Realm again...albeit half her age now.**

**But it seems that Shard is reconsidering his decision. And Ember is asking to be a guardian trainee?! (Seriously though, I don't recall there ever being a fanfic where it's Ember who becomes the new fire guardian.)**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 12~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"I just spoke with Ember," Cyril explained to Volteer, "She asked if she could apply to become a guardian trainee."

"Ember?...Really?" Volteer asked in surprised, "Does she even know what she's getting herself into?"

"I tried to explain to her that it's not easy," Cyril said, "But Ember seemed determined to be heard. And she did make some good points."

"So, what was your decision?" Volteer asked.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"You went to instructor Cyril to ask to be a guardian trainee?!" Flame exclaimed as he was talking with Ember.

"I thought it was a good idea," Ember said, "If someone with a handicap like mine could rise to the ranks of a guardian, I thought it be inspiring."

"I never knew you had a handicap," Flame said, "What is it?"

"Well...it's my short term memory," Ember said reluctantly.

"When we were little, our mother died," Sienna said, "Ember basically lost my short term memory to cope because of how traumatic it was. Without her short term memory, she couldn't remember the event. Her memory has gotten better. But it's still not up to par. And there's a good chance she never will regain her full short tern memory."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't know," Flame said apologetically, "But what did Cyril say?"

"He said yes."

**X~ ~Flashback~ ~X**

"No!" Cyril said.

"But why not?" Ember asked, "I believe I have what it takes to be a guardian."

"First of all, you're too young to begin the training," Cyril said, "And second, you have to prove yourself to one of us in order to get our attention."

"But we're not given any opportunities," Sienna said, "I understand that being our godfather, you feel protective of us. But you can't keep us sheltered forever."

"But then there's the case with your memory," Cyril said, "With your handicap, are you sure you can take on the responsibilities of a guardian?"

"That's exactly why I want to be a guardian," Ember said, "If someone with a handicap can become a guardian, wouldn't you agree that it'd be inspiring to others? And also help encourage others who have handicaps to succeed."

"You're dedicated to this, aren't you?" Cyril asked.

"Yes," Ember said, "I guess since I'm too young, I'll accept that for now. But when I'm old enough, I can I become a guardian trainee? I mean, there hasn't been a fire guardian for ten years."

"Six years," Sienna corrected.

"Six years," Ember corrected herself.

**X~ ~End Flashback~ ~X**

"So, what did Cyril say about you becoming the fire guardian trainee in the future?" Flame asked.

"Well, there's the condition of when I'm older," Ember said, "But he said yes, but on one condition."

**X~ ~Flashback~ ~X**

"Let me offer an additional condition," Ember said, "If I do become a trainee, and eventually the fire guardian, I would like it if Sienna to be my personal adviser."

"What?" Cyril asked in shock.

"What?" Sienna asked in equal shock.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to give her a chance," Terrador said, stepping into the discussion, "After all, it sounds like she's been thinking about this for a while now. And that in itself is an impressive feat."

"I suppose you're right. And it makes me feel better with Sienna being her adviser as well," Cyril said, "Sienna, what were your thoughts on this when Ember offered you to be her adviser?"

"I only just learned about this now!" Sienna exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry," Ember said, "I guess I...forgot to tell you."

"But honestly, I do like that," Sienna said, "That way, I can help my sister even if she becomes a guardian."

"Well, I'll still have to see more from you," Cyril said, "But if you can show you have what it takes, I won't disapprove the idea."

**X~ ~End Flashback~ ~X**

"Wait, both Cyril and Terrador are dealing with trainees, aren't they?" Flame asked, "Won't it take away from their own time in training the others?"

"I guess I hadn't thought of that," Ember said.

**X~ ~Flashback~ ~X**

"There's just the issue of having time to train you," Cyril said, "I may or may not have Shard. And Terrador may or may not have Quarry."

"Well, what about Volteer?" Terrador asked, "He's not busy with trainees at the moment."

"Alright," Cyril said, "If he agrees, Volteer will be your trainer."

**X~ ~End Flashback~ ~X**

"Well, I'd better get going," Flame said, "I'll see you later, Ember."

"Okay, see you later," Ember said, "And thanks for listening to me, Zaze!" With that said, Ember headed off.

"Wait, my name is..." Flame said. But it was too late. Ember was gone. Flame was upset about this. He never shown it. But he had a crush on Ember. And it upset him that she didn't even remember his name.

"I'm sorry about my sister," Sienna, who was still behind, said, "Like I told you. Her memory isn't that great. In fact, she's usually afraid to even attempt to say someone's name in fear of not remembering it or getting it wrong like she just did. You should feel proud that she at least tried to remember without a second thought." With that said, Sienna followed after her little sister.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

The next day, things were starting to get back to how they were before. Before classes started, Shard had something to tell Cyril.

"Hello, master Cyril," Shard said as he walked up to the ice guardian before class, "I believe I owe you an answer. I don't like attention and feeling like I'm getting things without trying. And that's why I originally didn't want to be a guardian trainee anymore."

"I see," Cyril said disappointed, "I suppose this means I'll have to look for another trainee."

"No, you don't," Shard said, "Although I don't like the attention being a guardian would bring, the feeling I get from helping others overpowers that dislike of attention. And I would like to offer a condition for master Terrador."

"A condition?" Cyril asked, "What kind of condition?"

"Well, it's more of just an idea," Shard said, "While in the Human Realm, I've seen Quarry show some impressive wisdom. And I believe instructor Alec can vouch for that. So for a guardian candidate, I believe he would pass that. So my offer is that when Quarry is finally able to defeat me in a sparring match, Terrador accepts Quarry as a confirmed trainee."

"I'll be sure to relay your offer to Terrador later today after classes are over. I can't promise what his decision will be. But if the offer was to me, then I would say yes to an offer such as that. And you of all people should know how strict I am," Cyril explained before heading into the classroom. But before he entered, he turned back to Shard, "And I'm glad you chose to continue your training. And as a dragon, his name is Silver, now Alec." Cyril gave a small grin. And with that said, Cyril entered the classroom.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Spyro and Cynder were still confused as to the situation. Alec had explained to everyone the theory as to why Fog was now six years old instead of eleven years old. But Spyro and Cynder, even though they were confused, were happy that Fog could have a proper childhood. And seeing as how young she was...again, she no longer had to go to classes. Well...at least not for another few years.

"But I want tuna for breakfast!" Fog exclaimed.

"Well, we don't have any tuna!" Cynder replied, "You'll just have to settle with salmon!"

"But I don't want salmon! I want tuna!" Fog exclaimed.

Perhaps Fog and Cynder's arguing wasn't connected to them naturally repelling each other.

"Hey mommy! Can we have tuna for dinner?" Iggy asked, suddenly appearing from the shadows, practicing his new-found shadow element, "That way, we'll have time to go out and get tuna, and Fog will be happy! Everyone wins!"

"Well, if Fog is willing to wait until dinner before having tuna, I suppose that can work," Cynder said.

"Well, if I have to wait," Fog sighed, "But do you promise we can have tuna for dinner?"

"I promise," Cynder said, "And Iggy, you should be careful about how you use your ability."

As a response, Iggy disappeared into the shadows and reappeared in front of Spyro, "Hi, daddy!" Iggy exclaimed, his sudden appearance causing Spyro to jump in shock. But after recovering, Spyro gave Iggy a nuzzle.

"It looks like you decided to appear and drop me a visit?" Spyro asked playfully.

"It's just so fun traveling through the shadows!" Iggy exclaimed.

"Well, be careful," Spyro said, "Using your elemental abilities will cause you to run out of energy. I'd hate to see you end up in Mount Boyzitbig and run out of energy. It's a long walk."

"But you've walked from there to the temple when you were younger, didn't you?" Iggy asked.

"First of all, I was still older than you are now. And it was still a long distance," Spyro said, "And besides, that was back when I used to live in the forest temple, which was much closer than the Warfang temple."

"Well, what makes you think I'd end up in Mount Boyzitbig?" Iggy asked, "I know how to control my ability."

"You only learned how to use it a couple nights ago," Spyro said, "And when you used it, you ended up in a completely different realm."

"That's no fair! I only teleported to the portal that took me to the Human Realm!" Iggy countered.

"That portal isn't that far away," Spyro said, "Perhaps you're admitting that you're not that good with your ability."

"I am so good!" Iggy countered defensively.

"Well then, prove it," Spyro said, "If you're really as good as you think you are, then do something to prove it."

With that said, Iggy left into a shadow. A few moments later, he returned with a figurine of Spyro that was sold in a mole gift shop in the city.

"No bad," Spyro said, "I've never been to fond of this figurine. It makes me look like a gremlin or something. But the mole who made then first made it when he was first starting out, I suppose. And wasn't as good as he was now. But this can be considered a classic of his." Then something else came to mind, "How did you get this? You didn't steal it, did you?"

"No. I asked the shop keep if I could just borrow it," Iggy said, "I have to return it though."

Realizing the situation, Spyro gave the figurine back. Iggy returned to the gift shop and returned the figurine before going back. However, when he got back, Spyro noticed that he seemed a little shaky.

"Has all that shadow use tired you out?" Spyro asked.

Iggy was tired, but his pride wouldn't let him admit it, "Uh...no," Iggy lied, "Why would you think that?"

"Well, if you were tired, I'd gladly carry you and let you lie down and rest," Spyro said, encouraging Iggy to admit that he was tired, "But if you're not tired, how about you come with me to the training dojo to train?"

"Well...we don't have to do that," Iggy said, trying to convince Spyro that he wanted to rest without revealing he was tired.

"But if you're not tired, you wouldn't turn down a chance to show how good you are," Spyro said. Spyro and Iggy had a bit of a stare down. Breaking under the pressure, Iggy just collapsed onto the floor, "That's what I though." Spyro lifted Iggy onto his back to carry him so he could rest.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"Okay, this should hopefully work," Alec said as he was entering the finishing touches on a program for the portal system.

I realized that I couldn't keep finding clothing for dragons coming through the portal for their first time. So I attempted to create a partial portal inside the portal to store clothing so when someone comes through to the Human Realm for the first time, the portal will recognize the lack of clothing and select an attire in storage to give them.

"I can't believe we went shopping for cloths and spent over a hundred dollars for this," Pat said.

"Would you rather have to find cloths every time someone comes through the portal the first time?" Alec countered, "Until I can figure out a way to have them appear fully clothed, this will have to do for now."

"Well, I guess if someone comes through, I might not always be here to attend to that," Pat admitted, "But will this be enough?"

"For now," Alec said simply.

Alec then set the a set of cloths on the portal and activated the program. He then did it with another set of cloths and activated it again...and again...

To be sure that the system recognized each set of cloths separately, I put each set into the program one at a time.

After about five minutes of sending cloths into the portal, the last set was sent through. That was when there was a knock at the door. Pat went to answer the door as Alec working on a new invention. Or rather, a modified version of a previous invention.

It had been a while since I've made something new...even though what I'm making isn't new, it's just a modified version of my current medical equipment. I chose to made medical equipment for use in the Dragon Realm. I was also designing a virtual training facility to perhaps use instead of the training dojo. There was a limit as to what the training dojo in the temple could do. But my virtual facility will allow you to modify and customize your training experience.

"Hey, Alec," Raymond said as he came into the lab, "Still playing around with your little toys?"

"Well, I'm designing technology to be compatible in the Dragon Realm," Alec said.

"Are you sure you should let another world have access to your technology?" Raymond asked, "I mean, if the wrong person got a hold of it, imagine the danger."

"I'm just designing medical equipment for them to use," Alec said.

I wasn't sure why. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to trust Raymond with the knowledge of the training facility. He didn't seem to fully trust the Dragon Realm, so I wasn't sure if I should worry him. I'm generally secretive with my experiments anyways.

"Well, as long as you know what you're doing," Raymond said, "Do you think I could have a chance to see the Dragon Realm for myself?"

I knew he was gonna ask eventually. Though I'm surprised it took him three years to ask.

"So, you finally asked, did you?" Alec asked playfully, "I don't see why not. I want to finish the medical equipment first. And do you have any skintight cloths?"

"I do at home," Raymond said.

"I have an idea," Alec said, "I want to finish this medical equipment. And I actually teach a class in the Dragon Realm about the Human Realm. My classes are on Fridays. So how about you come over on Friday, and make sure to bring something skintight. Then you can be a guest speaker for my class."

"That seems like an interesting idea," Raymond said, "I'll see you Friday then?"

"See you then," Alec replied.

* * *

**Ember asked to be the fire guardian trainee...even though you already knew that from the last chapter. And Cyril said yes...even though he technically said no. But then he said yes on one condition...even though it was technically Ember who made that condition. Perhaps Ember's memory of how the conversation went isn't exactly up to par.**

**And Shard agreed to continue his guardian training, as well as offering an idea for Terrador to hear about when to accept Quarry as a trainee.**

**And it looks like Raymond will get a look at the Dragon Realm as well as be a guest speaker in Alec's class.**

**...And Fog and Cynder are still arguing...**

**Please R&amp;R.**


	13. Chapter 13 & Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Spyro franchise characters. They are owned by Activision. I only own my own OCs.**

**If you don't like my story, then just don't read it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Chapter 13~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

That Friday, Raymond arrived at Alec's house. And together, they went to the Dragon Realm to speak at Alec, AKA instructor Silver's class. Raymond took the form of an earth dragon.

Raymond didn't know enough about the Dragon Realm to be able to compare it to the Human Realm. So his view of the Human Realm wasn't as detailed as it could be. I supposed it's easy to take something for granted if you don't even know there's another point of view. So Raymond just gave a few details before answering questions.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

After his class, Alec gave Raymond a tour of Warfang. Later, he formally introduced Raymond to Spyro, Cynder, and the kids, and even the guardians. Even though Cyril didn't like Alec that much, he seemed to like Raymond. And it contradicts the fact that Alec and Raymond were so much alike.

Me and Raymond aren't like twins or copies or anything like that. But we do have allot in common...I guess. We're both relatively laid back, We both are into videogames and fanfics...even though we have different tastes, And we both have fascinating backgrounds. I'm an inventor, and even an instructor in the Dragon Realm. And Raymond has a father in the CIA. So with our similarities, I was surprised when Cyril liked him and not me...well, I'm not surprised he doesn't like me. I've known him for six years and he still doesn't like me. He respects me, and I respect him. But we don't technically like each other.

We tolerate each other...to a point... But we don't like each other.

"I still can't believe Ember asked to be a guardian trainee," Mal said.

"I can't believe she came up with the idea to have Sienna as her adviser," Spyro said, "That was a smart idea on her part."

"I can't believe she actually remembered to ask," Alec pointed out.

Why do I have the feeling a conversation like that is gonna end up in a sitcom?

"I can't believe that a week ago, Fog was twice as old as she is now," Raymond said.

"Well chronologically, there's no difference in age," Alec said, "Her growth was accelerated when she was...made. But my portal didn't recognize that and returned her to how old she was chronologically."

"Well, changing the subject, how long did it take Alec to learn how to fly?" Raymond Asked.

"Actually, it was rather quick," Alec said, "When you go through the portal and become a dragon...or a cheetah...or whatever you become, your entire biology changes down to a quantum level. And that includes the dragon instinct. The dragon mind instinctively knows how to fly, so I just relied on that"

"Unfortunately, gaining the dragons' instinct to naturally know how to fly didn't come with and instinct to naturally know how to stop," Mal said teasingly, "The first time he ever flew, he couldn't stop and flew strait into a wall. Ended up with a couple broken horns and a sprained paw. And that was after being healed with red gems."

"Hey, in my defense, I'm a silver dragon. And silver dragons are built for speed," Alec said, "And the higher your speed, the harder it is to stop. I'm just glad that the 'built for speed' part includes a resistance to high impact crashes."

"How can you instinctively know how to fly, but not instinctively know how to stop?" Raymond asked.

"In Alec's defense, I had a similar situation," Spyro said, "My natural instincts allowed me to fly. But it didn't come with instructions on how to stop."

"Basically, in order to correctly train yourself how to fly, you have to start slowly at first," Mal explained.

"By the way, Mal. What was your first flying experience like?" Cynder asked.

"Well...I...um..." Mal stuttered nervously, "I can't really remember. It's been such a long time ago."

"So, how can you tell if you have these instincts?" Raymond asked.

"You should ask yourself, has you dragon body felt unnatural to you?" Alec asked rhetorically, "Haven't you noticed how even though you now have a completely different body that's a quadruped, has wings, and a tail, that you've never questioned why you seemed to know how to use that body without question?"

"Huh. I guess I didn't cross my mind. I guess it's because my body felt natural that I didn't question it," Raymond said, "So, if I were to want to fly, I could?"

"Yeah," Alec said bluntly, "The key is not to think about how to fly. Just want to fly and let your body do the rest. It's like riding a bike. Once you learn how to ride a bike, it becomes like second nature."

"What's a bike?" Mal asked.

"Bike is short for bicycle," Raymond said, "It's a two wheeled object that us humans often like to ride. It's powered by pedals, so it's good exercise."

"Although, I'm not sure how much use that is when it comes to quadrupeds," Alec said, "Sure, cheetahs could get some use out of bikes. But they're not designed for dragons. Although, I am an inventor. Perhaps I should design some kind of riding device designed for quadrupeds."

"I think flying will do for us," Spyro said.

"Well, it's getting late," Raymond said, "I probably should be getting back to my world now. But it was fun, and was good to meet you all."

"Will you be coming back?" Cynder asked.

"I'm often out of town, so I might not have many chances to come," Raymond said, "But if it's alright, I'll come once in a while."

"Well, good night," Spyro said, "And we hope to see you again soon."

"Well then, we'd better get you back home then," Alec said.

With that said, Alec escorted Raymond back to the portal.

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

The next day, Alec was once again back in his lab.

Spyro and Cynder have asked me to watch their kids while they were away. Spyro was out doing training while Cynder was out bonding with Fog. However, I had plans to work on a way to modify my form when I go to the Dragon Realm. So we came to a compromise. Aurora and Vortex would be watched by Mal while I would take watch of Iggy, even taking him to the Human Realm with me.

I think Iggy likes being human.

"Why do you want to change what you are when you come to the Dragon Realm?" Iggy asked, "Don't you like being a silver dragon?"

"Personally, I think being a silver dragon is awesome," Alec said, "But I just want to feel like I have control. And if others come though, they may not want to be what they are."

"So how do you plan on making this...modification device?" Iggy asked.

"Well, I plan on creating a program to insert into the portal program to allow the changes to happen," Alec explained, "However, I can't figure out how to integrate it into the portal and still be able to control it."

"Well, why not make another portal?" Iggy suggested, "If there's another portal connected to the rest of the program, you could use that third portal to make modifications."

At first, I wasn't sure what Iggy was trying to say. But after a few moments of thinking, I realized what Iggy was trying to say was not to make a portal, but just make a device that can activate the portal programs ability to covert matter into energy, and make the necessary modifications through the energy conversion. And as a separate device, I wouldn't have to be at a portal to use it.

I'd have to make a prototype that will have to use the portal device just to see if it's possible. But if I can create a portal converter, I can start work on a separate device.

"I think that could work," Alec replied, "If I can create a device that can tap into the portal's matter-energy conversion process without activating the portal itself, then in theory, it could work."

"What's the matter-energy conversion process?" Iggy asked.

"It's what allows the portal program to give me a dragon body when I go the the Dragon Realm, or what gives you a human body when you come to the Human Realm," Alec explained, "When you step through the portal, the converts the physical matter of your body into energy. As energy, the body can change at a quantum level, changing the quantum signature into one that the realm you're going to will recognize. Once the quantum conversion is finished, your body converts from energy back to matter. When I originally developed the matter-energy conversion program, I didn't know it would actually change me into a dragon as well. But since humans are just mythical creatures in the Dragon Realm, the quantum signature of the Dragon Realm couldn't give me a human form. So it created an alternative that's fitting for the Dragon Realm."

I noticed that Iggy seemed to have a blank expression on his face. Understandable. He's only three after all. And what I was talking about was science that's considered advanced even for peopled twice my age.

"I think I get it," Iggy said, getting Alec's attention, "The matter-energy conversion process basically allows you to take a form that the Dragon Realm will allow."

Wait...Iggy just understood my techno-babble? I was explaining science that was centuries away...literally. It's considered Star Trek technology. Technically, I guess the technology is is only about one hundred fifty years away in Star Trek standards. The transporters existed even in Star Trek: Enterprise,

"I'm impressed. The science behind my portal technology is so advanced, it's most likely still considered theoretical for the most part," Alec explained, "But the first version of my portal didn't use a matter-energy conversion process. The first time I visited the Dragon Realm, I still had a human form. However, my form was created from neuro-energy alone. Though it created a physical form in the Dragon Realm, my form had no quantum signature. By definition, I never physically left the Human Realm. I was unconscious and in a dream state. And when your mother came to the Human Realm for the first time, it was the same situation. Her form had no quantum signature. By definition, she never physically left the Dragon Realm."

"So you created the matter-energy thing so that you could take on a quantum form in the Dragon Realm," Iggy added, "And with you actually being physically in the Dragon Realm, you wouldn't be technically dreaming. And since time passes differently in dreams, you can't communicate with the Human Realm because of the time not synced. Being physically in the Dragon Realm keeps the times synced up."

How did he know that?!

"Cyril once explained how time passes differently when you dream than when you're awake."

Cyril... Of course...

"Well, with your help, I will be able to work on a device. But I can do that later," Alec said, "How about we go out for ice cream?"

"What's ice cream?" Iggy asked.

"It's a frozen dessert that we humans sometimes have as a treat," Alec explained, "It comes in several different flavors and can be eaten in different ways. You can have it in a bowl with a spoon, or eat it from a cone, or you add toppings, with chocolate syrup, nuts, whip cream, and a cherry, you have a hot fudge sunday, or eat it with bananas in a banana split. It comes in hard or soft serve, or frozen yogurt, which is like ice cream, but better for you. Or gelato, which is an Italian ice cream. Or you can have a milkshake, which is made with ice cream, but mixed with milk and in a drinkable form."

Iggy had no idea what Alec was trying to explain. But apparently, his human physiology instinctively knew what ice cream was. And this caused Iggy's mouth to water.

I don't think Iggy's mouth was watering because he instinctively knew what ice cream was. I think it was just because I mentioned a frozen treat.

* * *

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X  
~Epilogue~  
X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

"So, your son is friends with that young inventor?" A mysterious man asked.

"Yes, he is," the second mysterious man answered, "They are friends from high school. But he recently told me that there's a new invention. But this is something he's keeping for himself."

"Well, that is how he does things, isn't it?" the first man said, "He doesn't release new or updated inventions until he has a prototype for a more advanced version."

"But why isn't he attempting to make a new prototype?" the second man questioned, "And the first version has been around for years."

"Are you suggesting that he's hiding something?" the first man asked, "Do you think it could be a threat to national security?"

"Well, my son won't tell me what the invention is, even though it's apparent that he knows what it is," the second man said, "And since he hasn't revealed that he had a new invention in the making, perhaps we should pay him a visit."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

Back in the Dragon Realm, the mysterious figure was just finishing up with the final touches on the helmet of the high tech armor. He then turned and smiled to another figure.

"Well, Drogen, with the voice synthesizer in that helmet, you'll finally be able to actually talk," the second figure, who had a female voice said, "And the rest of your armor will give you flight."

The first figure, who the female identified as Drogen, had put on the helmet. It was a two piece helmet, the main skull part, and the lower jaw part. It was designed to pick up on movements in the mouth, such as tongue positions and other movements. The sensors will take those movements and synthesize vocal speech.

"So Drogen, does it work?" the female asked.

Drogen was nervous about this working. But he had to try at least, "Testing...testing..." Drogen said with a highly synthesized voice, "This is so exciting! Now I no longer will be mute!"

"The sound of that voice is something to get used to," the female said, "But at least now you can speak for yourself."

"I'll have time to refine the voice synthesizer later. I'm just happy to be able to talk," Drogen said, "And with the wings, I'll be the first drake to be able to fly."

"And it wouldn't have been possible if that strange white dragon hadn't given us that bracelet four years ago," the female said.

Suddenly a third figure arrived, "And now that you're finished, I will be taking over this project."

**X~ ~ ~ ~ ~X**

_**You belong to me!**_

* * *

**It looks like Alec's friend Raymond didn't have much to say at the class. But Alec does have three years of experience being instructor Silver, as well as three years prior to get to know the Dragon Realm. Raymond is a first timer. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt.**

**And it seems Iggy knows allot for his age. Maybe he even knows more than he should for his age. But it looks like he likes ice cream, as any child his age would.**

**And who are Drogen and his female friend?**

**See you next time.**

**Please R&amp;R.**


End file.
